What a Thing It Is
    In ’teaching’ nature poetry outside to sixth graders, I often read this poem aloud with pleasure. I hope you will enjoy it.–April Moore
WHAT A THING IT IS
    by Thomas Merton
What a thing it is to sit absolutely alone,
in the forest, at night, cherished by this
wonderful, unintelligible,
perfectly innocent speech,
the most comforting speech in the world,
the talk that rain makes by itself all over the ridges,
and the talk of the watercourses everywhere in the hollows!
Nobody started it, nobody is going to stop it.
It will talk as long as it wants, this rain.
As long as it talks I am going to listen.
June 30th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
For those who live in the western US, it can be the smell of rain that is the most transfixing. That has been true for me whether in the deserts of Arizona, the high windy plains of Wyoming, or the high forests of Colorado.
July 1st, 2008 at 10:34 am
Yes, I know what you mean, Jim. In my years in New Mexico I have come to appreciate rain more than ever. Even just a few drops really seem to awaken the desert, releasing fragrant scents. It can be intoxicating!