Barnes in Common

the magazine of Churches Together in Barnes
July/August 2007

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Privacy of Rain

by Helen Dunmore

Rain. A plump splash
On tense, bare skin.
Rain. All the May leaves
Run upward, shaking.

Rain. A first touch
At the nape of the neck.
Sharp drops kick the dust, white
Downpours, shudder
Like curtains, rinsing
Tight hairdos to innocence

I love the privacy of rain.
The way it makes things happen
On verandahs, under canopies
Or in the shelter of trees
As a door slams and a girl runs out
Into the black-wet leaves.

By the brick wall an iris
Sucks up the rain
Like intricate food, its tongue
Sherbetty, furred.

Rain. All the May leaves
Run upward, shaking
On the street bud-silt
Covers the windscreens.

Father Paul Holland writes:
I love this poem, "Privacy of Rain" by Helen Dunmore. With our concerns about the planet, we can so easily lose sight of the poetic vision of the natural order.

Here, rain is being celebrated for its pure sensuality and element of surprise. "That first touch at the nape of the neck", both thrilling and shocking, "A plump splash on tense bare skin".

We have all experienced that moment and probably seen it as a signal to turn up our collars and run for cover. However, I love being drenched by the rain as I regard it as renewal of my baptism.

The poet also sees rain in a similar light - "White downpours shudder like curtains, rinsing tight hairdos to innocence". "Tight Hairdos" are the fabricated image we have created for ourselves that we offer to the world around us. And, here, the rain rinses it out restoring us "to innocence", restoring us to our natural selves.

With the rain comes a new beginning, just like the waters of baptism.

Christians renew their baptismal vows on Easter Day, being sprinkled with water. But here, Helen Dunmore reminds us that a good natural drenching by the rain can also serve the same purpose.

We need our poets to help us see the world in a new light. If you are about to go on holiday you could not do better than take the poems of Helen Dunmore with you. Her poems cast a bright revealing light on the living world around us as the familiar is never quite the same again.

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