Leslie is memorizing her final poem for the year. It has been very appropriate for these rainy, dreary days we’ve had lately. It’s called “Rain in Summer” by Longfellow. When you’re smack dab in the middle of a major drought, this poem holds a special meaning. I don’t usually photograph rain, but I did today. I praise the Lord for each and every drop! We have been praying for rain to fill the rivers and ponds and to water the grass and trees so they “feel better”, as Matt says. We pray we get many, many more drops before summer arrives.

Rain in Summer

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

How beautiful is the rain!
After the dust and heat,
In the broad and fiery street,
In the narrow lane,
How beautiful is the rain!

How it clatters along the roofs,
Like the tramp of hoofs,
How it gushes and struggles out
From the throat of the overflowing spout!

Across the window pane
It pours and pours;
And swift and wide,
With a muddy tide,
Like a river down the gutter roars
The rain, the welcome rain!

In the country, on every side,
Where far and wide,
Like a leopard’s tawny and spotted hide,
Stretches the plain,
To the dry grass and the drier grain
How welcome is the rain.

Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. ~ Psalm 147:7-8