The gentle rain,
It comes again,
It falls the same,
It fills the frame,
It comes again,
It falls the same,
It fills the frame,
It's almost imperceptible,
But my clothes are it's receptacle,
Weighted down with it,
As a million miniscule droplets hit,
Drenched am I,
By stealth and sighs,
By stealth and sighs,
I'm washed, without knowing,
I've stopped without slowing,
I've grown without growing,
I am shown, but am not showing,
This gentle rain,
I'm soaked in pain,
Sodden to the skin,
So wet, I can't begin,
To tell where it began,
The water, as it ran,
Its running rivulets race,
Over my hands,
And down my face,
I didn't see it start,
I just stopped, and played my part,
The silent statue king,
Soaking, soaking in,
Soaking, soaking in,
The melancholic king,
Raining over everything,
Reigning over nothing,
Loved before even loving,
Standing under,
A silent thunder,
A growing numbness,
And a thawing wonder,
Raining over everything,
Reigning over nothing,
Loved before even loving,
Standing under,
A silent thunder,
A growing numbness,
And a thawing wonder,
This gentle rain,
Its mercy comes again,
Its quality is not *strained,
It drops,
Softly drops, the same,
On the quick and the dead,
And in its gentle generosity,
It falls too,
Upon my head
Its mercy comes again,
Its quality is not *strained,
It drops,
Softly drops, the same,
On the quick and the dead,
And in its gentle generosity,
It falls too,
Upon my head
Steeped in sin,
But soaked to the skin,
In cleansing spray-like mist,
I'm being baptised,
But I barely notice
But soaked to the skin,
In cleansing spray-like mist,
I'm being baptised,
But I barely notice
M Joseph Burt (18.06.2020)
*Note: When starting this poem I was inspired by nothing more than the rain outside my window and the mood that it invoked in me from many rainy days and walks in the past. The phrase gentle rain just sprang to mind and I knew I had to convert this feeling into verses. At the stage where I was inspired by the 'melancholic king' image, I remembered the line from The Merchant of Venice, The quality of mercy is not strained. Rain has long been for me a symbol of God's mercy, and the Shakespeare line provided not only amazing imagery but also a good (if not obvious) rhyme. I looked it up in the middle of writing and was surprised to find that Shakespeare used the phrase gentle rain in this exact speech, and not only that but is speaking of mercy as an attribute of God which is reflected when Kings show mercy. So the Monarchic imagery was also strongly present in the same speech. Subconsciously it is possible that I had absorbed this and was recreating it in my poem, but it was not a direct attempt at interpreting or commenting on The Bard's work. Consciously it was just a happy coincidence. However I am sure that the phrase gentle rain was in my mind because of his contribution to our culture and consciousness. Whatever way you look at it, the Man has a presence in my poem that I would like to acknowledge.
*Note: When starting this poem I was inspired by nothing more than the rain outside my window and the mood that it invoked in me from many rainy days and walks in the past. The phrase gentle rain just sprang to mind and I knew I had to convert this feeling into verses. At the stage where I was inspired by the 'melancholic king' image, I remembered the line from The Merchant of Venice, The quality of mercy is not strained. Rain has long been for me a symbol of God's mercy, and the Shakespeare line provided not only amazing imagery but also a good (if not obvious) rhyme. I looked it up in the middle of writing and was surprised to find that Shakespeare used the phrase gentle rain in this exact speech, and not only that but is speaking of mercy as an attribute of God which is reflected when Kings show mercy. So the Monarchic imagery was also strongly present in the same speech. Subconsciously it is possible that I had absorbed this and was recreating it in my poem, but it was not a direct attempt at interpreting or commenting on The Bard's work. Consciously it was just a happy coincidence. However I am sure that the phrase gentle rain was in my mind because of his contribution to our culture and consciousness. Whatever way you look at it, the Man has a presence in my poem that I would like to acknowledge.
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