Rainstorm
Wings outspread, a bunch of kites
Are borne by hot air thermals;
Tails direct their effortless glide
To ever-higher circles.
Watch that cumulonimbus rise
Beyond the rain crop fields!
The dust cloud takes him by surprise,
The farmer’s heart is healed.
Now there will be ample rain
To save the crops from drought;
To timely soothe and timely rein
All minds much given to doubt.
Cattle driving waterwheels
Find a rare respite;
Doves and sparrows are revealed
Swirling about in flight.
Children playing with marbles shout,
Some peel their summer fruits;
Their clothes, as they dart about,
Flutter to wind’s flute.
Village girls raise their chatter
At the roadside well,
They laugh and tease, utensils clatter,
Water’s drawn pell-mell.
An old hag soon raids the starlings,
Scolds the charming creatures
Half in earnest, half from longing
For girlhood’s long gone features.
Darkness cloaks the afternoon sun,
The clouds roar and thunder;
Some fear jinns – though they see none –
Arrive the earth to plunder.
A ruddy muddy magical veil
Hides the mountaintops,
Trees swing, the weak ones fail,
Rain patters heavy drops.
Two beings are quite unmoved
By this mighty splendor;
One a cow, blameless and hoofed,
One lured by love songs’ candor:
Sitting dry under a tree
In his rag-patched garb,
“My sweetheart’s smile’s my only glee,”
He sings to his Rabaab.
