The Rain and the Roof
The rain and the roof met last night
In the darkness of the covered moon,
It was evident with a flash and groan
That the thunder did not approve.
The rain pitted down against the tile
And the roof sounded with taps and knocks,
The water ran fast through the cracks
And dripped off onto to the rocks.
The rain threw affection,
The roof pushed away,
But neither would cease
Even past the day.
Those inside and out
Could hear their loud game,
The two were not shy
And they both would not wane.
While the thunder might grumble
And cause a stir to sleeping heads,
The rain patted rhythmically
And the roof protected their beds.
A friendship or a love,
Or perhaps nothing at all
But the lullaby would come
Through winter, spring, summer and fall.
It could be said, of course
That the roof and the rain enjoy
Too much for a manmade invention
And a specter of natures employ.
The two exist against each other,
One made to solve the other
Who expected that their meetings
Would bring more than dry cover.
The roof and the rain met last night
Under the darkness of the covered moon,
It was evident with a flash and groan,
That the thunder did not approve.
I was trying to fall asleep last night when the rain started to fall, pretty hard I might add. I was listening to it though, and letting it help me fall asleep when the first line of this poem came to my mind. And then the thunder grumbled as if in protest to my thoughts.
I’m not sure why I wrote it, or how well it fits with Romanticism. There is an obviously natural element, a few if you take the thunder and lightning and then of course the rain. And then there are human characteristics for all of these elements at the same time. I really did wonder who would have imagined that rain and roof could create a lullaby that would help some (me at the very least) fall into a restful sleep.
The idea of the roof being pointless without the rain is really interesting. I know the described situation very well, in Germany I live in an attic flat. And I enjoy seeing the rain flowing down the window, hearing it drumming on the roof, seeing the lightnings and hearing (and sometimes even feeling) the thunder. It is a mix of reverentially admiring and fearing the weather at the same time. It is gorgeous in its force and now reminds me of the sublime power of (the) Mont Blanc (the poem itself and the idea of the mountain in it). And when the thunderstorm is over, I can go to bed, lulled to sleep by the rain (and the roof). I love thunderstorms, their dangerous beauty and sublime power when I am safe. Contradictory? Romantic!
ReplyDeleteRafiq,
ReplyDeleteIt's not a bad poem dude ... its needs to be revised quite a bit I think, but the central conflict between the roof and the rain and the harmony and comfort it created for you is a really romantic concept. Perhaps it mirrors some inner state of your soul? Ah, and poems that start when you are trying to fall asleep, but can't are often awesome. Keep working on it, dude.
This is not a lame poem at all! I find that usually the best ideas come to me when I start to go to sleep. The lyrical quality of the poem was soothing, much like the rain acted as your lullaby. This lullaby feature is juxtaposed against the fighting of the thunder, roof, and rain (in stanza 3). Furthermore, the personification of the thunder and rain, the simplicity of their perceived characteristics (thunder being grumpy, rain wanting to play, etc.) was very childlike, adding to the lullaby theme. I thought it was interesting that the roof acted as an interloper between man and nature. While it stopped the bed from getting wet, it did not stop the sound; there are often unperceived consequences and uses for things. Lastly, the bookended first and last stanzas echoed the magnitude and cycle of nature; the nature and the storm don’t stop because you fall asleep.
ReplyDeleteI definitely do not think this poem is lame at all either! Nature is such a romantic force that this fits so well into everything we are talking and reading about. I like that you have personified the rain, roof and thunder; I think that in the things we have been reading, nature is always another main character. Maybe Nature is the protagonist of all of romanticism.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this poem. Particularly, I enjoyed how the rain and roof played against each other. Every time it rains here, I can hear the rain hitting against the window pane and the roof. Also, the thunder never does seem to approve!!! I like how you take a piece of nature and place against an object created by man. A lot of times, we have discussed the problems with man disrupting nature. Although, here the reversal isn't happening they both seem to be living in harmony. Or perhaps the thunder, another naturistic element, does not approve of the newly formed relationship because those two opposites should not interact. When they do, nature is pushed aside and the results are tress torn down to create buildings.
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