It's A Rainy Day In Georgia

True shape of a raindrop

Flood Watch, Severe Thunderstorm Watch, Tornado Watch. Take your pick. Most of Georgia is covered in an overlay of potential weather watches issued before dawn and likely extending well after dark. Now that a few waves of torrential rains and lots of positive lightning strikes - the fire starters - have passed through the flash flood warnings are coming. 

I'd like to say this is a typical spring event but it's not. It's a damp cold, about 20 degrees below normal and time for a warm all day fire in the den. I want to look on the brighter side of this dark, wet, and cold day especially considering last night's amazing basketball tournament final - congrats, Kansas - this weekend's Masters in Augusta, and a Maryland men's lacrosse game on Saturday. Given all those pluses here's another one in the form of a song about rain and why, deep in our souls, we cherish it.

Cloudburst is sung in Spanish and based on a poem by the Mexican writer, Octavio Paz. Here is a translation:

The rain . . . 
Eyes of shadow-water
eyes of well-water
eyes of dream-water.
Blue suns, green whirlwinds,
pecks of light that open
pomegranate stars.
But tell me, burnt earth,
is there no water?
Only blood, only dust,
only naked footsteps on the thorns?

The rain awakens . . . 
We must sleep with open eyes,
We must dream with our hands
we must dream dreams of active rivers
Searching for their cause
Dreams of the sun dreaming of its worlds
we must dream aloud,
we must sing till the song
casts roots,
trunks, branches, birds, stars,
we must unearth the lost word,
and remember
what the blood, the tides,
the earth, and the body say,
and return to the point of departure

Stay warm today. Check out the Masters this weekend - the azaleas should be in full bloom. Check out the Maryland lacrosse game - Big Ten Network.

 

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:

Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration