"There Will Come Soft Rains" (War Time)
There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white;
Robins will wear their feathery fire,
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;
And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
About this poem
Sara Teasdale’s poem “There Will Come Soft Rains” is a departure from her usual reflective works - and lacks that emblematic emotional depth and introspection - however by exploring the idea that nature will persist despite human actions and expressing a sense of detachment towards human existence, it focuses on a post-World War I landscape marked by escapism and disillusionment. The speaker uses peaceful nature imagery to highlight the contrast between the tranquility of the natural world and the violence of war. The poem's straightforward language and repetitive format underscore the consistent and unchanging nature of the earth. more »
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""There Will Come Soft Rains" (War Time)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/188336/"there-will-come-soft-rains"-(war-time)>.
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