In praise of rain

Since the British famously love talking about the weather, that's what I want to do prompted by the wonderful (tongue-in-cheek) stuff we are having! In case you have missed it, April 2012 is officially the wettest April in the UK since records began. This all deeply ironic given that much of the country is faced with a hosepipe ban.

Sitting indoors and mooching about has made all philosophical. In this context it is entirely appropriate to marvel at the wonders of rain as captured by some beautiful poetry and a classic movie:

The Rainy Day by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;

My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,

But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,

And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.

Raindrops by Helen H Moore (1921 - 2005)

rain
drops
drip
down
all
day
long.
drip down,
slip down,
splashing out their song.
thunder-crashing
splishing
splashing,
slipping,
dripping,
raining down
their rainy
raindrop
song.

Considering rain in the context of these and other rain poems certainly lifts the spirits and makes you look at the world in a new light!
As Bill Graham, author of the Patterns in Nature blog sums up:

"The rain drop offers layers of beauty. First, the glistening sparkle of reflected light. A sparkle that sometimes dances. A closer look reveals a reflection of the raindrop’s surroundings distorted by its spherical shape. These mesmerizing and addictive designs are abstractions far more beautiful than ones created by the hand of man. And, represented in this beauty is the power of rain. It is a life force required by all living things. It is a shaping force that defines both our earth’s surface and how we live. And, it is a connecting force because water is central to everything."

Maybe, just maybe with these positive pictures in mind, I'll soon be singing in the rain, a la Gene Kelly!

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…it’s about learning how to dance in the rain!” –Vivian Greene