When The Rain Started Drizzling Into His Story by Riyas Qurana is a three-stanza free verse poem about growth and moving on. This poem focuses on a character’s journey of coming out of a hard place in life and having the strength to rebuild his identity so that he can experience a fresh new start with the possibility of new opportunities that will bring back the happiness in his life. This poem promotes self-growth and the power of redefining your identity to become stronger despite all the things that tried to pull you down. You can read the full poem here.
When The Rain Started Drizzling Into His Story Analysis
First Stanza
When walking on the plain of grass
Passing beyond the hilltop,
The rain started to drizzle over the tree
(…)
In a fraction of second, they might come
And how to make a tree grown up
With the seed planted.
Qurana starts the first stanza by giving the reader a visual of the environment the character is surrounded by. This description is important because not only does it set the mood for the poem but the environment is a symbol for the internal journey that the character is experiencing. Line one opens the poem with an image of soft footsteps on a grassy field; signifying the smooth natural adventures of life that every individual experience throughout their existence. The concept of walking represents life moving forward as a person continues to exist day in and day out.
The second line mentions “passing a hilltop”, this hilltop can easily embody hardships that one faces, the bumps on the road that are unavoidable in any person’s journey through life. By indicating that the character is “passing beyond” the hill, Qurana is revealing to the reader that the character has been through his bump in the road or difficulty and it is now behind him.
Line three illustrates a new image of rain drizzling over a tree. This image is extremely important as it lets the reader experience the emotional circumstance that the character is experiencing. The tree is a symbol of his new beginning, it represents the person he can be if he lets go of the hurt he experienced from his hardship and embrace the lessons he has learned, and grow into a better, wiser, stronger individual. The rain in this line also helps promote the idea of a new beginning and washing away the past.
Line four clarifies that the tree is his new identity as he grows as a person and moves on from his past because it states that this tree “stands only in his story” implying that no one else can have that tree in their story because they are not this character and have not experienced or lived what he has, each individual has their own trees in their stories.
Lines five to eight continue to explain the journey as they paint a picture of the character walking up to the tree and witnessing the rain dripping off the leaves of the tree and the grass was not as luscious under the shade of the tree. This image is a clear symbol of the character’s new identity. As his new identity awaits to be embraced (the tree), it is dripping in the rain of new beginnings. The grass not being soft and new under the tree signifies that the character is not moving through smooth adventures of life anymore, he has experienced hardship and learned to move on so the grass is “cropped” right where his new identity is standing.
The next two lines depict the turn of events for the character after he passes his hilltop and reach his new identity through the birds coming out of the clouds to sit and sing on the tree. The singing birds represent a new day and the new opportunities that come along with it. Qurana describes the birds coming out of hidden clouds, this could imply two things. The first being that the new opportunities in his life now are coming out of the character’s difficulties and hardships that he experienced; or that these new opportunities are coming out of places he never thought were possible for him since the clouds (possibly his ambitious dreams) are described as “hidden”. By having these birds sitting on a tree that signifies the character’s new identity Qurana is pointing out that when the character moves on and decides to embrace his hardships and grow into a new person because of them, he is also embracing a life full of new opportunities that he cannot access if he holds on to his past.
Lines eleven and twelve expose that the voice of these birds are reaching the character “little by little” entailing that he is slowly starting to accept and embrace this tree with its birds. He is acknowledging his new identity and is beginning to see the blessing of new opportunities that accompany it.
Line thirteen is a little more ambiguous as Qurana states that at any moment “they might come”; the “they” symbolizes his past experiences and people who remind him of his disappointments, which he does not want catching up to him. The last two lines of the stanza are showcasing the concept of growing into a new person by suggesting that by the simple fact of wanting to grow into a new person the character has planted a seed for his tree. Indicating that the character has fully accepted the idea of a new identity and the freedoms that come along with it, leaving behind the negativity he has experienced.
Second Stanza
Floating in the air
I become the tree stretching my hands as branches
(…)
Each word of her song comes out struggling
And weeping
The second stanza of this poem switches into first-person probably to bring the experience that the character is going through to a more intimate and genuine level for the reader. Line sixteen depicts the character floating in the air. This is highly significant to the character’s journey as it embodies the lightness that the character feels at accepting the new identity that is full of new beginnings for him. By choosing to move on the character has left behind the burdens of negativity, damage and heartache that he had experienced so far, resulting in weightlessness that allows him to rise up.
Line seventeen initiates the account of the character’s transformation. He stretches to have his hands become the branches of the tree; by explaining the process Qurana is highlighting the importance of the transformation for the character. It is an experience that he has to process in order to embody his new identity.
Line eighteen continues to illustrate his transformation with his legs becoming the trunk growing its roots underground. This line informs the reader that his new identity is not a phase but a true transformation that has a strong foundation due to his past experiences and his ability to let go and move forward.
The next two lines express his successful embodiment of the tree as the birds that represented new experiences and opportunities come towards the character and settle on him signing freely celebrating his new beginning. The reason the mentioning of the birds singing and flapping their wings is so important is that it highlights that things do get better when a person chooses to grow and chooses to accept the possibility of a much better future by giving life another chance through optimism.
Line twenty one really allows the reader to glance into the past to view the hilltop that the character had just passed before owning this new identity. It becomes apparent in this line that his hilltop was a relationship that didn’t go the way he had anticipated and now that he has moved on and is looking forward to the freedoms new opportunities will bring him, “she” comes looking for him.
The reader can understand that the “she” here is his previous love and she is nowhere with a song of her own, except hers is described as “struggling” to come out and “weeping” in lines twenty-two and twenty-three. Perhaps she is regretful of losing him and is trying to get him back, the possibility if the character returning to her seems highly unlikely as he does not hear her song as one that is beautiful and enticing rather it reaches him broken and “struggling” proving that he has truly moved on.
Third Stanza
If you turn the pages of his book
You would see his lover roaming about
All over the story.
The third stanza returns to being in the third person and concludes the story by revealing the past of the character. Line twenty-four begins to explain to the reader that every person is the author of their book of life and this poem helps others take a look into the book of this specific character.
Lines twenty-five and twenty-six discuss that if the reader turns the “pages of his book”, meaning the character’s book of life so far (as he has just embodied a new beginning so the rest of the “book” is yet to be written.) it becomes clear that “she” (his lover) was a prominent part of his story. By disclosing that this woman has been a big part of the character’s past Qurana is promoting the message that it is possible to move on and see yourself with a new identity even after you let go of a relationship that you invested so much time and effort into. Furthermore, you can choose your identity and redefine yourself as many times as you need to in your lifetime.
