Pathetic Fallacy

Today has been dreary and wet, although fortunately the forecast thunderstorms didn’t materialise. It has been so gloomy that we’ve had to put lights on indoors much earlier than usual, making the day seem even shorter.

The dreariness of the day mirrors my present lethargy; I have so little energy and am struggling to achieve even simple tasks at the moment. Clearly the best medicine on these occasions (for me, at any rate!) is to resort to poetry and creativity, neither of which I’ve had much time for of late. Thus I treated myself this afternoon to a short photo session in the front garden, followed by a browse through some poetry, and ending with a play in Affinity Photo to add the words to my chosen photo.

Despite the somewhat depressing tone of the first two verses of the poem, I am uplifted by the last verse – and by the thought that the sun is still always shining behind the rain-bearing clouds.


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 mouldering 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 mouldering past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick 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 (1807-82)