When The Rain Falls...
Posted: Saturday, September 04, 2010
by Richard Radtke
http://www.cottagebythelane.com
Be still sad heart and cease repining;
Behind the clouds the sun is shining,
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life a little rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The rain is falling now, although the day started with a bright and clear blue sky. The sun had risen with a happy glow, pushing away the darkness of the night, its light moving swiftly, softly over the land. As it moved higher in the sky the birds began to sing, fly through the new found dawn. And a promise of a new day, filled with hope, and joy touched those early risers who stood and watched, and marveled as the sweet smelling, thinly veiled rush of light tentatively pushed across the land. Bringing with it new dreams, new plans, and the assurance of life once more going on
But not now, now is the time of the dawn, the beginning of a new day, and with it new hope, new promise. Here and there a bird bursts out in song, greeting the dawn as it arrives. A robin takes flight, while a small rabbit moves in small bursts of speed across the dew-covered meadow pausing now and then for a moment to look for danger, or to feed on a plant. And the darkness that was the night moves back, losing its hold on the land for now, finally retreating beyond the horizon to where the dark clouds lay, and the day moves onand with it life.
The wind, now but a breeze, moves swiftly, dislodging the fat, shiny drops of dew, that cling tenuously to bits of grass, like a sailor may cling to the bits of flotsam left by a sinking ship, and with a wearied, suddenness they plunge down and fall onto the thirsty ground, disappear, and are gone. Here and there a bud, which had been waiting for the warming sun, opens to reveal a fragile petaled face, each one colored by a fairy's palate. As the rays of the rising sun gently probe the shadows of the land, they warm it, as they fall. They gently push the shadows around, teasing them, twisting them, and the breeze blows warmer than it was, but cooling just the same. It moves through the fields, playfully making waves in the tall grass, rustles the branches of the trees, pulling off an odd leaf here and there, momentarily letting it fall, then catching it, carries it off, and finally losing interest in that game drops it like a discarded toy in the yard and moves on' perhaps to help a young bird take wing for the first time, or to push a fat, fluffy cloud from here to there. As the wind plays it games the sun moves across the sky, and the heavy clouds move closer, scuttling slowly in from the horizon.
The day moves on, and the shadows lay flat and long across the land, and it is still, the wind gone now, it has traveled on, tired of this place. But there, slowly, steadily moving in, dark clouds that hang heavy in the sky. The sunlight dances across them, illuminating them, showing their towering height. The wind plays among them on its way, pushing them higher, it roils within their depths, rolls their vapor to heights that even birds cannot attain.
But yet here, where we stand, it is still, the air hangs heavy, pushes down upon your soul, and still the darkness creeps closer. Ever so slow, it rolls. Bit by bit the light grows dim, overwhelmed, fleeing before the storm that is coming in. Thunder rolls, a deep growling rumble from within the approaching clouds, and lightning explodes across the sky, with a flash so bright you avert your eyes, you feel the power as the storm moves overhead. As the darkness that it is descends, the swirling clouds begin to storm, cover the sky, and the rain begins to fall
This Article has been viewed 379 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Beautifully written Richard. You have a wonderful knack of putting the reader into the scene.Grace
Very nice...keep it up...RegardsCP
My word, you are such a poetic writer. Your ability with words is awesome, Richard.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.