AT LAST
God be praised; ‘tis the rain;
Don’t you hear it on the pane?
Hear the music of its clatter
Of the big drops’ joyous clatter
On the tin roof? Hope has come to life again.
Out of doors; ‘tis the rain;
Head uncovered I would fain
Feel the warm showers’ sweet caressing
Soft descending like a blessing,
While a thousand blessings follow in its train.
O the rain; welcome rain!
After labour nearly vain;
For it seemed a hopeless battle
Fighting hard for sheep and cattle
As we watched the dry grass wither from the plain.
O the rain; welcome rain!
Was there ever a refrainLike the elfin music thrilling
While the dusty tanks are filling
And the waterpipes are swishing down amain?
See the sunshine after rain
Sweeps the mist from heart and brain;
And the sound of merry laughter
Is the harvest that comes after
All the weary time of waiting for the grain.
God be thanked for the rain;
Far from us the creed inane -
That man’s destiny a piece is
Of blind nature’s strange caprices,
And the heavens are as brass to human pain.
E’en our souls need the rain;
And our arid senses crane
After Grace’s soaking showers,
To refresh our drooping powers,
And bring spring-time with the flowers back again.
Maurice O’Reilly