a world of rain

kawase hasui a small boat in the spring rain

-

there's a world

where it rains all the time ...

all day

and all night

summer

winter

autumn and spring

no one sighs

when they wake up

and see that it's raining outside

because that is what happens

in the world of rain -

it rains

all the time

some of the rain

is soft when it falls

(like small bubbles)

and some of it is so fine

that it's like

walking through gossamer

some

of the rain

(especially in cities)

falls fast and straight

in thick quicksilver threads

that gather to form alleyways

through which one can walk

and remain dry

the alleyways form

through the rain's sensitivity

to the passage

of people

walking through them is much like walking

through a shimmering tunnel

as the rain actually bends overhead

and appears to cascade

to either side of you as you walk

from one doorway

to another

there is no sun

as the rain itself provides

a soft grey light

that actually grows

with the intensity

of the rainfall

in this world of rain

no one cries

because there is no sadness

people speak in warm whispers

that hover above the hushed sigh of the rain

which as you might have imagined

has a degree of sentience

that allows it to become part

of the conversations

the words that pass

between people and the rain

are gilded in pale shimmering hues

that gather into deliquescent rainbow pools

each of which hum, purr or murmur

the rain falls

each and every day -

its constancy

measured

in the beauty and the joy

of the world it falls upon

kawase hasui benten island at tomonotsu