Of Rain-Engulfed Rooms and Lovers in Spate

Uncut Poetry

Rain, amongst all seasons, is as much feeling as occurrence. In spite of all its deleterious effects - on roads, homes, countries - log-jammed lanes, traffic jams, leaky roofs, economic devastations! - it can never be bereft of its poetry, it’s memory of growing pangs, it’s matte occurrences of comfort, tea and satisfying dissatisfactions. Everyone has a rain-infused remembrance. The peerless newsletter ‘The Nook’ had a get-together to reminisce about people and their memories of rains - “One (of the participants) brought with them the rains of Kerala, with their many names and each a peculiar character. Another told us of the monsoons in the hills, of mothers and grandmothers climbing concrete roofs and fixing them while children hold buckets and gather stones that roll off. We shared stories of running across paddy fields, our feet tickling; tales of a small family on a three-wheeler devouring patties that we too could taste in our mouths. We were transported to a bustling street in Delhi brought to its knees by the rain. We became kids floating paper boats in puddles, lovers stealing a kiss in the backseat while the driver’s distracted by the romance of the windshield wipers and the rain.”

Indeed! For lovers, the rains are the perfect playlist. Gentle, harsh, insistent, soothing. The world inside finds a rhythm with the world outside. Being inside a time when time doesn’t matter is life’s finest benediction, one which lovers embrace with casual ease, knowing, possibly for the first time in their lives, that the world can wait. And that then is the bittersweet legacy of the monsoons. Of being so close to life that thereafter it doesn’t matter - and then to immediately lose that lesson. In living through the rains, we are filled to the brim with both life’s grace and possibilities. If only we let the aftermath be a continuum. If you liked this poem, consider listening to these other poems on the romance of rain:

• Bringing the Storm Home
• Dancing in the Rains
• Making Love in a Church on a Stormy Day

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The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Parting of the Ways - Part 2 by Kevin MacLeod
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/4196-parting-of-the-ways-part-2
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license