Sunday, April 14, 2019

GloPoWriMo Day 10: The Furriness of Rain

Write a poem that starts from a regional phrase, particularly one to describe a weather phenomenon. 

This was another difficult write (can you see a pattern emerging here?) In the end, I used a phrase that we use to describe a drizzle - '
毛毛雨', or, furry rain, and let the piece run its course because I was way too tired from work to think of any other more interesting / better phrases.


THE FURRINESS OF RAIN

when it drizzles we say下毛毛雨, xia(1) mao(2) mao(2) yu(3) which means furry rain is falling and as a child i used to wonder why: until i grew older and realised that fur envelops - fur is soft - fur is temporary amnesia from cold -

furry rain softens the hard edges of the world - falls gentle on the skin like yearned-for-unrequited touch – soaks through hair clothing skin earth – a first but not final intimacy –

unlike you father

the rain slips off my skin easier than the marks of  your words nailed heavy onto my bones


3 comments:

Merril D. Smith said...

Oh my--I was not expecting that ending AT ALL! Whoa!
I didn't get furry rain until you explained it. I guess maybe when it's hot and humid? But really the phrase just makes me think of cat hair stuck on wet skin. :)

Shuku said...

Merril, that may very well be the inspiration for it - cat hair on wet skin! I don't even know where the phrase came from, just that it's a little regional expression I've been using and hearing since I was a child. Maybe it's because in the tropics, drizzles are pernicious - just like cat hair on wet skin!

Kerfe said...

Yes, that's quite a change in tone. The contrast is quite startling.
I can see furry rain for drizzle. I like it--sometimes we do look furry with all the glistening drops that stay on us when the rain is gentle.