The umbrella would not open

It was a grey day
An English grey
Smudged and smeared
Blacks and whites
Scythed the skies
And mottled shades of
Dark and light
Sank into the horizon
And lay in wait
For the morrow

The night ejected the grey
Like a smoker's breakfast smoke
And street lights haze
Made angels appear
And the floating whites
Of car headlights oft dazzled
And splattered the pavement
Spotlighting dog shit drying
As moonlight spat

And the spits became splodges
And hair dampened
Dripping over my face
Smudging mascara
And revealing a nocturnal warrior
Intent on being dry
But revelling in the damp
The umbrella snapped into action
But would not open

A broken umbrella
Like an unfulfilled life
Hanging around in useless anticipation
For something, but inert
And the rain only deepens
The frustration
Of getting wetter
But carrying a weapon
Of the past