This warm rain in winter comes too early,
With its breathy bluster promising spring,
Like a kiss before its time, wet, heavy
With bold promises it cannot keep. Bring
Me back February’s quiet waiting,
Stilled from time to time to utter silence;
The city’s noise hemmed in interlacing
Flakes. There will be time for the sweet science
Of spring, for rushing rains that pool and seep
Into the waking earth, tickling seeds
From sleep, to yawn and stretch in shoots that leap,
Toward the light. Yes, I, too, have that need
For laughing movement. It will keep. Let snows
Still hem me awhile before the rain blows.
Powerful image of snow hemming you in, protecting you from spring’s “breathy bluster”. Very nice, but I’ve found spring seldom disappoints!
Indeed, indeed.
I was going to write a “making of” blog post to the construction of this sonnet, because the process is interesting, and initially I was only wanting to comment on the heavy, summer like rain we had the other day. The haiku gets a better sense of that. Setting them side by side it is amazing how florid a sonnet is (can be) in relation to the spareness of the sonnet, though admittedly this is a very small sample :). I think the two poems do, though, somewhat illustrate the differing nature of each poetic form.
I like the fact that you wrote both a sonnet and a haiku about the rain! I found it quite poem worthy as well!:)
So, did you write a poem then? Any chance of seeing them? 🙂
Great Shakespearean sonnet. I love a good sonnet.
Thank you, Thomas. I have visited your blog and enjoyed a sonnet there myself. Thank you for visiting.