Aspects of Rain
In the best of places, rain glistens
through street lights; rivulets running
on tarmac, enchanting the eye;
on distant lands, near black
clouds hang pregnant with pent up water
ready for a deluge of unknown
proportions.
But here in England the dreary
substance continues unremitting,
slanting over moving cars
in ordinary streets, drenching
fields by dreamy country lanes;
spitting over the University lake to
the dismay and indifference of ducks
and coots.
Some women watch the droning
lines sleeting on their windows;
in places by the Thames, anxious
hearts are weighing up the likelihood
of flooding, counting the minutes,
saying prayers to an uncertain god,
dreaming of sand bags, helicopters
and evacuations.
On ordinary days, in run of the mill
winters, rain is shaken off boots,
drops of it hang on neat umbrellas
gripped tightly by bent over figures.
In the southern hemisphere it falls
hard for shorter periods; anyone
who cares to stay dry hangs inside
porches at the onset of the deluge.
Children, though, come out with wellies.
through street lights; rivulets running
on tarmac, enchanting the eye;
on distant lands, near black
clouds hang pregnant with pent up water
ready for a deluge of unknown
proportions.
But here in England the dreary
substance continues unremitting,
slanting over moving cars
in ordinary streets, drenching
fields by dreamy country lanes;
spitting over the University lake to
the dismay and indifference of ducks
and coots.
Some women watch the droning
lines sleeting on their windows;
in places by the Thames, anxious
hearts are weighing up the likelihood
of flooding, counting the minutes,
saying prayers to an uncertain god,
dreaming of sand bags, helicopters
and evacuations.
On ordinary days, in run of the mill
winters, rain is shaken off boots,
drops of it hang on neat umbrellas
gripped tightly by bent over figures.
In the southern hemisphere it falls
hard for shorter periods; anyone
who cares to stay dry hangs inside
porches at the onset of the deluge.
Children, though, come out with wellies.