Ode to the Rain

Corinne O’Connor

You’ve been kissed in enough,
you have heard the love-soaked confessions
on the theatre screens,
the thematic downpour of the climax of the movie as the guy chases the girl.

But why does nobody talk about the white noise you make,
the background soundtrack as I type up my papers,
the constant pebbles-against-window sound that rocks me to sleep. Why does nobody talk about the way you cling to the side of the roads in puddles that look worthy of rivers--
and yes, I will get my shoes wet as I cross the sidewalk
but I can hardly find it in myself to be mad.

You’ve emptied out the coffee shop so my friends and I can sit and chat and drink hot chocolate for a couple of hours,
and I haven’t done that in so long that I need to thank you
for clearing the space,

for washing away the last year. Your chatter is secondary to ours, like a fourth friend chiming in.

The three of us sit content by the glass panel and watch you dribble from the treetops
as we discuss our futures.
You have soothed over my worries

and I think—I really think—everything will be just fine.  

Corinne O’Connor (‘25) is a Genetics and Counseling Psychology Major from Bay Shore, NY. Poetry and writing have always been a part of her life, and she is happy to be a part of this year’s volume of Pitch!