RAIN AT DUSK

Every time I see the heaving earth
Under a dark and angry sky
I feel there is going to be a row
Of tempest or a storm.

It’s just a fight of sound and fury
Of course, signifying nothing
For when it ends the sky is blue
And the earth is cool and calm.

I watch it from my window
The clouds crumbling into drops
Then gathering might with rising strain
And falling to a steady flow.

It’s a wondrous sight to watch the rain
Beads of rain that play a game
Of run and chase along the lines
Shimmering strings of silver
Sliding down the eaves
The roses and the jasmines
Dancing in the shower
They beg the impish droplets
To be more mild and tender.

Even as you watch
The strain goes weak and soft
The few stray drops that stay
Like lingering boys at play
Are called away by mamma earth
And put to bed on her bosom soft.

Now the sky is blue again
And the earth is cool and fresh
It is sometimes good to have a fight
If that will set everything right.

25th October 1988