Waiting for the Rain
There is that moment before every African storm...
AI Artwork
Waiting for the Rain
So dry, so desperate,
gagging for relief,
the earth opens herself for you,
laid bare and vulnerable to your vagaries.
Are you coming?
The blue sky is shimmering,
relentlessly bare, but for the searing sun.
We, hot and despairing,
feel a tingle of tension.
Anticipation builds,
the earth gasps stickily,
silently oppressed.
Suddenly the rainbird warbles.
Relieved, we are assured,
you are on your way.
Storm clouds gather
overhead in an instant.
So sudden, the overladen darkness!
A violent clash of thunder!
We jump,
surging for shelter,
harried ants.
Your fury is imminent!
A pitter of raindrops
larger and harder than frozen peas.
We are pelted!
Take cover!
Lightning rents the clouds,
the dampening earth crackles
under the beginnings of chaos.
Relentless, you deluge,
terrifying us with your violence.
Thunder roars the games of the gods.
Lightning shreds the skies,
spears the ground with
fearsome cracks of sound.
Then mercifully,
sunbeams break through,
warm the damp earth,
releasing that particular scent,
the sign you were here.
As clouds clear,
puddles call to the children,
a siren song, come play, come play.
The day warms again.
With relieved satisfaction,
we sigh.
The rains are finally here!
Inspiration
Living in Zimbabwe, October always seemed endless. The relentless heat built day after day until the first tropical thunderstorms finally broke the drought. The arrival of the rains was never just weather; it was an event everyone had been waiting for.
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© Catherine Knee 2026. All rights reserved.
AI Declaration
AI was used solely to create the accompanying artwork.
No AI was used in the writing of this poem.
Waiting for the Rain is a contemporary poem by Catherine Knee celebrating Zimbabwe's rainy season, tropical thunderstorms, drought, nature and renewal through vivid descriptive poetry.