The Voice of the Rain

The pairs of opposites are: earth – heaven rise – descend day – night issuing – return reck’d – unreck’d changed – same land – sea

The last two lines are in brackets because the rest of the poem is in the form of conversation between the poet and the rain. The last two lines are written by the poet as narration.

The rain originates from the earth and finally returns to it. It is exactly like what we read in science. Water on earth evaporates and forms clouds. Then these clouds formed of water produce rain which fall on earth again. Thus, there is a similarity between the description of rain in the poem and what…

The words ‘I for song issuing its birthplace’ indicate this. There is similarity between music and rain. Both return to the place of their origin.

‘Strange to tell’ means that the poet is amazed by the answer from the rain.

The two voices belong to rain and the poet. These lines are: “And who are thou? said I to the soft falling shower.” “And I am the poem of the Earth, said the voice of rain.”

The rain calls itself poem of earth. It is everlasting and perpetual. It is something that cannot be touched. It originates from the land and the deep sea. Then it rises upward to heaven where it changes its forms into a cloud, yet remains the same in quality. From the sky it pours down on…

The poem is not merely a description of life-cycle of rain. It has deeper meaning. Rain is a poem or thing of beauty of Earth and so is song or music. The comparison between rain and music and their function, making the Earth pure and beautiful conveys the eternal role of natural phenomenon and art…

The poet compares the rain with music. The poet watches the falling showers of the rain. The showers are falling very lightly producing a soft music. Like music, rain too is life giving and inspirational. It spreads love and joy.