He sows fine seeds upon the earth
But no wheat grows, there is a dearth
Of rainfall
The sun beats down upon his field
The soil bakes hard, there is no yield
Still rainless
He hopes for wind and begs for clouds
He whispers soft, he prays aloud
for raindrops
He lies prostrate, drowning in fears
A ghostly form cries saltless tears
The rainsprite
Showers and sunlight join as one
The heavens shimmer, having fun
A rainbow
It’s Meeting the Bar time over at dVerse Poets Pub, and Laura, our congenial host, has asked us to create a Compound Word Verse of five stanzas, three lines in each, with the syllable format 8/8/3 and rhyming pattern a/a/b. The final line must end with the required compound word that begins, or ends, with the stem word.
Limitation can often create freedom as our poetic and creative minds no longer need to expand into the freedom of the form, but in the story itself. I had no idea I was going to write a poem about a farmer desperate for rain – although given the drought and constant high temperatures we have had in Europe, this probably isn’t surprising.
If you fancy trying your hand at this Compound Word Verse form, why not join us? It’s fun, creative and you can read lots of other contributors’ poems into the bargain!
I liked the rainbow in the ending!
Thank you!
Fab choice of word in the current break in the heatwave, Freya, with its promise of rain, and I love the progression from a ‘dearth of rainfall’ and rainless hard soil to the final rainbow. The rainsprite was a lovely surprise!
Thank you, Kim, I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Oh, I have been desperate for something other than relentless heat (it was too hot for me, for too long) and we were rewarded with an absolute downpour several times, with breaks in the rain for sunshine.
My pleasure, Freya.
Love what you did here, and especially how it comes to such a good closing
Thank you! Sometimes, it’s good to have a happy ending. I could so easily have made the poor farmer’s life worse misery…
Thank goodness the weather gods let him off the hook in the end, Freya…
Absolutely – it could easily have gone the other way!
Freya I loved this poem and the inclusion of the sprite – read and re-read right up to that hopeful and bright ending
Gorgeous poetry and just what the folks living here on Oregon’s high desert need!