When it rains

31/03/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



I stand outside

The rain falls

Crashing down

On barren soil

Parched too long

Thirsty for more

Cracked and open

Drinking its fill

Dark waters flowing

Over dusty red plains

To oceans full

Along ancient courses

Where people build

Unsuitable houses

For landscapes old

And disasters new

Where lives are shattered

By that rain

As it falls at once

And crashes still

Then flows and seeps

Until barren soil

Is left once more

When the Storm Comes

29/12/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation



Lightning scorches the sky

Instantly brilliant, then gone

A flash filled with intensity

Burning before my eyes

        And, still, I think of you.



Thunder rolls across the horizon

A low rumble filling my ears

Cracking and breaking

In wave after wave

        And, still, I think of you.



Grey clouds blanket the sky

Pushed by angry winds

High above me

Blustery and gusty

        And, still, I think of you.



Rain mists on the windows

Gutters overflow

Fences drip and shine

Grass is sodden underfoot

        And, still, I think of you.



Leaves dance up into the sky

Caught in the twisting duel

Of opposing forces

Before fluttering down to earth

        And, still, I think of you.



Hail shatters on the roof

Sending showers of ice

Flying to the ground

Like a carpet of snow

        And, still, I think of you.



A rainbow arcs across the sky

Glittering as it hangs above

Leading to a pot of gold

That I will never reach

        And, still, I think you

A Slow Rain

10/12/2020 – Poem a Day Compilation



Out here the land is dry

Cracks appear like mouths

Begging for a drink

But there is no comfort,

Nothing to quench the thirst

Of parched fields

Or sunburnt deserts.



The animals huddle nervously

Around almost empty watering holes

Eking out the last drops

From plants that won’t survive the summer

Not knowing when the next deluge will come

Or where they should head towards

To get that life-giving liquid.



Locals pray to go a god who doesn’t answer

For something to get them through,

Or just enough to last this month

Or this week,

Or even just today

When they need something sustainable:

A slow rain to wash away the fear.