Poetic Tides Through Time

The Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the moldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
         And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the moldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall think in the blast
         And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
         Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
         Some days must be dark and dreary.
                             Henry Wadsworth Longfellow[1807-1882]


From: The Home Book of Verse by Burton Egbert Stevenson, 1917, pg. 3351

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         What can be said about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, poet extraordinaire from New England? I found this poem, on, you guessed it, a dark and dreary day, that eventually spit out some much needed rain in Colorado. This poem is more about human nature than weather, though.
         He captures the tendency of all of us to hold onto the past; his use of repetition in this poem emphasizes the connection between life moods and weather moods. What I found most interesting, however, was the phrase, "into each life some rain must fall" and he is credited with originating this quote: https://www.google.com/#q=henry+wadsworth+longfellow+quotes&*. It remains in our lexicon to this day.

         Henry's bio and his achievements are noted here: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/henry-wadsworth-longfellow.