Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE BALLADE OF THE COMING RAIN, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: When the morning swoons in its highest heat Last Line: O then is the time to look for rain. Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F. Subject(s): Rain | ||||||||
WHEN the morning swoons in its highest heat, And the sunshine dims, and no dark shade Streaks the dust of the dazzling street, And the long straw splits in the lemonade; When the circus lags in a sad parade, And the drum throbs dull as a pulse of pain, And the breezeless flags hang limp and frayed -- O then is the time to look for rain. When the man on the watering-cart bumps by, Trilling the air of an old fife-tune, With a dull, soiled smile, and one shut eye, Lost in a dream of the afternoon; When the awning sags like a lank balloon, And a thick sweat stands on the window-pane, And a five-cent fan is a priceless boon -- O then is the time to look for rain. When the goldfish tank is a grimy gray, And the dummy stands at the clothing-store With a cap pulled on in a rakish way, And a rubber-coat with the 'hind before; When the man in the barber chair flops o'er And the chin he wags has a telltale stain, And the bootblack lurks at the open door -- O then is the time to look for rain. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DISTANT RAINFALL by ROBINSON JEFFERS CHAMBER MUSIC: 32 by JAMES JOYCE HEAVY SUMMER RAIN by JANE KENYON CROWD CORRALLING by MARGARET AVISON THE RAIN-POOL by KARLE WILSON BAKER ON THE GREAT ATLANTIC RAINWAY by KENNETH KOCH A BOY'S MOTHER by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY |
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