Poem Summary: Rain on the Roof by Coates Kinney

Rain on the Roof by Coates Kinney is a beautifully written poem about the beauty of nature i.e. the magical effect of rain on one’s mind. In this poem, the poet brings alive the effect of rain’s pitter-pattering on his mind and heart, as well as old memories of his life when he was a child. Let’s read and analyze the poem stanza by stanza.

When the humid shadows hover

Over all the starry spheres,

And the melancholy darkness

Gently weeps in rainy tears,

What a joy to press the pillow

Of a cottage-chamber bed,

And to listen to the patter

Of the soft rain overhead!

Through this stanza, the poet describes the rain scene at night. In the starry night when dark clouds gather for rain, at night (referred as melancholy darkness) rain falls on the earth softly. For a poet, the sound of the rain is a source of joy, thus he presses his face to the pillow and listens to the heart-soothing pitter-patter of the rain falling on the roof of his small cottage.

Every tinkle on the shingles

Has an echo in the heart;

And a thousand dreamy fancies

Into busy being start,

And a thousand recollections

Weave their bright hues into woof,

As I listen to the patter

Of the rain upon the roof.

Here the poet feels the sound of the rain on the shingles. And after every tinkle or pitter-patter there is a reverberation in his heart identical to the sound of raining. Because of the rain sound, he feels a series of dreams or fancies playing before his eyes. While listening to the rain outside, he enjoys this part of imagination.

Now in fancy comes my mother,

As she used to, years agone,

To survey her darling dreamers,

Ere she left them till the dawn;

Oh! I see her bending over me,

As I list to this refrain

Which is played upon the shingles

By the patter of the rain.

As it continues to rain, the memories continue to rush in his mind about his past life. And in one such incident, he remembers his mother who used to come to see him as well all his siblings at night before sleep. And particularly her mother would bend down to kiss him. It is amazing to note that nature evokes the purest and best memories from past life and at the same time one feels healed.

Then my little seraph sister,

With her wings and waving hair,

And her bright-eyed cherub brother

A serene, angelic pair!

Glide around my wakeful pillow,

With their praise or mild reproof,

As I listen to the murmur

Of the soft rain on roof.

In this stanza, the poet remembers his sister and brother, probably younger ones. He imagines them in the form of angles revolving around his pillow. Though he had tiny dust-offs often with them but as he is remembering them, thus he casts a positive vibes on his memories. To remember someone positively is possible.

And another comes to thrill me

With her eye’s delicious blue;

And forget I, gazing on her,

That her heart was all untrue;

I remember but to love her

With a rapture kin to pain,

And my heart’s quick pulses vibrate

To the patter of the rain.

Apart from some good memories, there also comes disturbing memories to the poet when he was in love with a beautiful girl. However, the girl didn’t respond to his love. The poet loves her beautiful blue eyes. Though she didn’t love him, but he loved her, and this is splendid memory for him. He remembers her with mixture of pain and joy. In remembrance his heart thumps to the tune of rain falling outside.

There is naught in Art’s bravuras,

That can work with such a spell

In the spirit’s pure, deep fountains,

Whence the holy passions well,

As that melody of nature

That subdued, subduing strain

Which is played upon the shingles

By the patter of the rain.

 

In the last stanza, the poet compares the music of rain with man-made music. Though man has composed several great music pieces, but none matches the veracity of the nature. The sound of rain (nature) is not only influential but also restrained and of higher value, when it comes it overcomes all other sounds happening in the surrounding.

Through this poem, we get to know many beautiful yet serene aspects of nature. Though here the medium is rain, but nature be it in any form, is indeed has healing powers and often it evokes memories of our past life, especially childhood.