The gentle rain begins with a single drop
It falls on the concrete, blurring chalk drawings
It falls on the flowerbed, soaking into the soil
It gains confidence, seeing its first drop welcomed by the earth
Soon the rain masks the world in its veil
As the rain falls, it senses something hesitantly coming into its space
First a small foot,
then a leg,
then the whole of a very small girl dances out into the downpour
spinning and laughing at her bravery and independence
The rain dances for the girl,
gently sweeping her around the driveway while it watches,
delighted at the joy on her face
They spin round and round enjoying
the weightlessness of innocence
Then, a voice at the garage tugs at the girl
She falls back to the ground,
back to reality.
Back to insomnia, and bank statements, and constant shame
Back to the same meal every night
Back to planning the funeral
The girl falls
And finds herself a woman
The woman watches from the garage as the rain leaves
Taking with it the girl she once knew.
The gentle rain ends with a single tear.
This is for all the girls turned women. I originally wrote this poem when I was sixteen. Strange that I was so young yet felt so weighed down that I didn't feel like a dancing child anymore. I rewrote much of it today, but the essential character of the poem remains the same. In contrast to my depressing poem, I would like to end here on the hopeful note that the joy of innocence is not lost forever. Jesus Christ offers you a chance to be clean and to live in the joy of his love forever. He will not leave you like the rain in my poem. In fact he is pursuing you right now, you only need to look for him. Thank you for reading.
