10 short poems about rain

Rain affects everything. We love it when we’re feeling lazy. We curse it when it ruins our plans. We fear it when it comes with violent winds. And it makes a powerful metaphor.

These short poems celebrate rain in all its guises. Enjoy them, and stay dry.

This short poem is about the steady drip-drip-drip of intrusive thoughts.

telltale

Plink plink plink,
plop plop plop.
Rain falls drop by
drop drop drop,
each one an echo
in my head,
a word
I left unsaid,
a reason
why she fled.

Make it stop stop stop.

This short, silly poem is about a rainstorm that waxes and wanes.

pizzle drizzle

tip tap pitter pat
raindrops leap
and fly and splat

tip tap pitter pip
raindrops drum
a gentle drip

tip tap pitter pizzle
raindrops fade
into a drizzle

This short poem is about wild lightning on a dark night.

electric dance

joints crackling
limbs flailing
into angular
attitudes,
lightning dances
across the sky.
herky jerky
kinda twerky
it burns with
heedless joy
behind a clapping
curtain of rain.

This short poem is about saying goodbye to regret.

washing day

her regrets were dust.
they cocooned her
in an arid cloud
of failed feelings
and missed chances.
she was gasping for breath
when a gentle rain
washed them away.

This short poem is about umbrellas in a crowded place.

pointillism

blue, yellow, red
an umbrella over
every head.
red, purple, green
more ‘brellas than you’ve
ever seen.
green, fuscia, pink
these umbrellas look like
dots of ink

This short poem is about rain and mourning.

rainy mourning

I imagine the clouds
miss you as much as I do,
and the rain pouring down
is their tears.

This short poem uses rain as a metaphor (and, maybe, a pun).

rain of tears

she sobbed so long
and so hard that
her rain of tears
filled a pond
that overflowed into
a stream
that overflowed into
a river
that overflowed into
an ocean
that swallowed
her pain.

This short poem is about the boundless power of the humble raindrop.

the rains of change

One drop
Who cares?
Ten drops
What’s that?
One hundred drops
That’s something.
One thousand drops
A downpour
One million drops
A tsunami

This short poem is about the heavy rains that herald spring.

hello spring

the clouds have
big news:
it’s time for
things to grow.
their whispers
fill the sky
with wind.
their low murmurs
rumble like
thunder.
they pour out
a welcome
to spring.

This short poem uses rain as a metaphor for persistence.

to persist

one teaspoon
at a time,
the rain turns
mountains
into valleys

This short poem is about the absence of rain.

aridity

Grizzled.
Parched.
Bone dry.
Brittle grass burns
‘neath a merciless sky.
A scorched surface
where nothing
can find purchase,
the arid earth
whispers its pain,
thirsting for rain.