A WALK THROUGH THE RAIN

There, the light shone
It was dark
The rain came down
Heavily
The young lad tread
Alone
He was lonely
All the time
Scared
Afraid of the dark
Yet he trode

The roads were slushy
Slippery

Pot-holes abounded
Pieces of rock
Strewn around.

Was it the dogs
Or the snakes
Or the animals
Wild
He feared most
No
He was afraid
Of the dark
Pitch black
The lad was lean
Twelve years

There was no one
At home to keep
Him company

The mother at home
So sweet and loving
Awaited anxiously
The apple of her eye

The rains beat against
The roof and the windows
Lightning and thunder
In quick succession


She peered out
She was alone at the house
Flash floods instilled
Fear in her

The light shone all the time
To seek out the lad
To show him the way
Tell him his mother
Waited for him

The wind swept wild
The trees swayed
The river in spate
Roared
The boulders invisible
Yet invincible
The foam flew on
The road high above
The boy drenched

There was mist
He couldn’t see ahead
A lad of his age ought
Not to have been on
The road at that hour

He had set out
When the Sun was around
A bright sunny day
It was three miles
He loved to read
The library opened its’ doors late
Planters’ library
A big crowd assembled
The exchange cumbersome
It took long

The lights went off
Night, darkest ever
Abrupt the rain lashed
The lad set off for home
The books held close
Wind tried its best
To sweep the umbrella
The boy strained to keep
The books dry

Books meant a lot to him
A loner,
No companions, he had
Found solace in his books
An open window to the world
Where a stranger
He remained.

Learning by rot, detested he
Anathema a life structured

It poured amidst
The dance of fire and thunder
The tall peak in silhouette
The green bushes
Bed softest ever
Angry falls in numbers
On the slopes
The swaying trees
Tall and mighty
Indeed scary

Trout sought haven
In vain
The water rolled on
Vehemence imbibed.

Pity the one in the open
Face the fury

Lo! The beacon
Not far, he urged
The spirit sagging

There were tears in her eyes
Of joy
She held him in embrace
Him she loved most

The flashes lingered
Thunder, the worst
The downpour submerged
All in wake

The mother and the son
In the warmth of the shelter

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