Fall, rain, fall.
Wash the world,
Rinse us of sorrow and strife.
Each perfect drop, splendor untold,
Crash upon our world, provide us life.
If only you could cleanse all of the Earth.
Gently now you mist the surroundings,
Soothingly now you calm the soul.
All is made clear, clouding things,
Never relent, nor lull.
***
Published 11/13/10
This is the last poem I wrote on my old blog. It was one of the last three posts as well.
Written on a rainy Fall day (my favorites!) it’s a common sentiment I still feel today. I enjoy walks in the rain. Through the woods, through downtown — you name it, I’ll walk around in the rain. A gentle rain is more pleasing than a heavy, but I once went downtown to walk when the river nearly flooded the rain and winds were so heavy. It was great.
I think there’s something primal about rain. The smells it brings out. The life it gives. The way it refreshes the world. Yet, it’s never quite enough to clean the whole world of our marks upon it.
I think about how in the 90s, acid rain was increasingly a problem. We nearly completed our ultimate corruption of the environment: poisoning the very rain that fuels our essential water cycle. We were able to reverse it, but I can’t help but see the other things we refused to address as our oceans continue to warm — the other essential part of the water cycle.
I hope my beloved rain can continue to refresh the world awhile longer, and only wish it would rain so hard and so long that it finally could wash our blight away.
Rampant Swan 