Rain never falls upon this land.
The heat is strong, the shrubs are dry,
And dust flies loosely all around,
Under a shimmering, glaring sky.
My feet are scorched by frying sand;
My head is burned by angry rays;
I wend upon this flaming ground,
And watch the hours turn into days.
At night it cools, yet no relief
Will comfort in my turning sleep;
The air oppressively berates;
My rest is neither sound nor deep.
And as the summer ebbs, my grief
Does not abate by cooler air,
Though rumor that it condensates
Should ease my sighs and lift my care.
Rain never falls upon this land!
The clouds are rumbling, breezes blow,
The wind is moist! And all around
The cool, relieving feel and sound
Begins its singing, sweet and low.
And yet, the rain, it never comes.
The desert harshly cackles, jeers,
The moment leaves, the sun is back;
The only drops are my own tears.
This dry and thirsty land succumbs
To vengeful heat, relentless sun;
I wearily drop my traveling sack,
And weep until this day is done.
How did I roam, so far from home?
Why did I leave a paradise?
When did my sense to leave commence?
Where did I get such ill advice?
I had such hopes for this new ground,
Such dreams of joy and laughter found!
And so was lead by happy sound
And thought that rain would fall all ’round.
Rain falls upon the land I left
And thither now I must return.
A land of water, wind, and trees,
With sweet soft clouds, and singing breeze,
For that is what for which I yearn.
Farewell, O land, for which I longed,
Good bye! O ground of promise gone!
I cannot stay upon this strand:
Rain never falls upon this land.
Comments
I love it, James. Very
I love it, James. Very beautiful, and it has a thoughtful lilt to it. Left me pondering on metaphors. :) thanks for sharing with us! Well done.
I don’t thrive off of chaos: chaos thrives off of me.
Loved it!
I particularly enjoyed (because I'm more technical with poems) how you switched up the rhyme scheme with each stanza. It adds some roll to the monotony of a stable scheme.
And the use of no rain really opens up a world of metaphor. I don't know how literal you meant it, but it was very thought-provoking to read through.
I'd hate to be pushy about it but I've sent you an email about becoming a monthly writer. If you could read that I would be very grateful ;)
God Bless,
Madalyn
Introverts unite!
Separately!
From the comfort of your own homes!
Hi James, it is nice to read
Hi James, it is nice to read something from you on apricotpie again.
It was a sad poem, but after reading the comments I understood it more. I like how you can interpret this in different ways. At first I thought you were mourning about the situations in our world today--with the metaphor of rain. Then I guess I read the comments and it may be that you applied it to possibly how moving from home is.
That made me like this poem even more because now I am away from home too, and I can relate to mixed feelings.
"It is not the length of life, but the depth of life." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thanks everyone :)
Thank you all for your comments. :) This poem actually is meant both literally and metaphorically. I moved from the beautiful Willamette valley in Oregon to the dry canyons and barren hills of Southern California... and also at the same time have dealt with some rather crushing life disappointments. The two things went hand-in-hand so well that a poem as such felt fitting.
I'm actually traveling back and forth between the two places right now. This week I'm in Phoenix, AZ for work, and then next weekend I'm headed back up to Oregon for five weeks before going back south to California. Life is a bit interesting right now. :)
<><~~~~~~~~~~~~><>
"The idea that we should approach science without a philosophy is itself a philosophy... and a bad one, because it is self-refuting." -- Dr. Jason Lisle
Haha living in the broiling
Haha living in the broiling valleys in SoCal all my life, I get where you're coming from ;)
Introverts unite!
Separately!
From the comfort of your own homes!
Good poem.No rain. Sorry
Good poem.
No rain. Sorry James. Wouldn't mind if you moved up here though. We get too much rain. We miss you.
Thanks again for sharing.