#195: Rain poetry, June melodies and the magnificence of the universe

Dear reader,

The rains in Bangalore have been slightly sporadic, much to my disappointment. But on the bright side, there’s sunny mornings, dry clothes and rain haiku.

a haiku written in anticipation of rain:
grey clouds and false hope
please let the downpour begin
my hot chai awaits

Doodled over a photograph I spotted on @faiza.hasan‘s stories

While I wait for the rains, a few things that have been lifting my spirits:

• Squirrel watching

• Doodling on clouds ^

• Recipes involving colocasia and pumpkin

• Alone time

• Foraging for flowers

• Working on Keynote, my new favorite tool after Notion

• Mulling over what to say at a talk I’m giving on Creativity, Daydreaming and the Importance of Play

• Sleepytime, an app that tells you the best times for you to sleep and wake up based on sleep cycles
  

I’d love to hear back from you and know some of the small, unexpected sources of joy and comfort in your days. Do share some with me, if you feel like.

---

Rain poems

Artwork: Rainy Day, Frank Weston Benson

1. Last Night the Rain Spoke to Me by Mary Oliver

Last night
the rain
spoke to me
slowly, saying,
what joy
to come falling
out of the brisk cloud,
to be happy again
in a new way
on the earth!

2. Advice from a Raindrop by Kim Stafford

You think you’re too small
to make a difference? Tell me
about it. You think you’re
helpless, at the mercy of forces
beyond your control? Been there.

Think you’re doomed to disappear,
just one small voice among millions?
That’s no weakness, trust me. That’s
your wild card, your trick, your
implement. They won’t see you coming

until you’re there, in their faces, shining,
festive, expendable, eternal. Sure you’re
small, just one small part of a storm that
changes everything. That’s how you win,
my friend, again and again and again.

3. Rain by Raymond Carver

Woke up this morning with
a terrific urge to lie in bed all day
and read. Fought against it for a minute.

Then looked out the window at the rain.
And gave over. Put myself entirely
in the keep of this rainy morning.

Would I live my life over again?
Make the same unforgiveable mistakes?
Yes, given half a chance. Yes.

4. The Rainwalkers by Denise Levertov

An old man whose black face
shines golden-brown as wet pebbles
under the streetlamp, is walking two mongrel dogs of dis-
proportionate size, in the rain,
in the relaxed early-evening avenue.

The small sleek one wants to stop,
docile to the imploring soul of the trashbasket,
but the young tall curly one
wants to walk on; the glistening sidewalkentices him to arcane happenings.

Increasing rain. The old bareheaded man
smiles and grumbles to himself.
The lights change: the avenue's
endless nave echoes notes of
liturgical red. He drifts

between his dogs' desires.
The three of them are enveloped -
turning now to go crosstown - in their
sense of each other, of pleasure,
of weather, of corners,
of leisurely tensions between them
and private silence.

---

Music for June

The June Spotify playlist is here. Happy listening!

---

Art finds

Crocheted coral reefs by Christine Wertheim and Margaret Wertheim

• In love with these crocheted coral reefs

• Looney Tunes: The Original Model Sheets

• {Shan, Shui}*, an infinite procedurally generated Chinese landscape painting

• Guarding the Art, an art show curated by museum guards + The Met is currently hosting an exhibition of their employees’ artwork.

• CODA, a portrayal of a mind's work in a symbolic attempt to liberate oneself

• The making of 17th-century watercolors

• Topographies of Fragility

---

For the love of poetry

Maya Angelou | Photograph by Will McIntyre (via)

• Is cooking like writing poetry?
  Maya Angelou: Yes, cooking is like writing poetry, but it’s also like building a house. You want the best ingredients. When you’re writing a poem, you hope to have a good vocabulary, and to choose the nouns and pronouns and verbs carefully. The way you put them together will determine how they affect another person. And it’s really because you’ve been careful in the choice of your ingredients and respectful of how they work together. That’s true of all the efforts in life.
  -from an interview found on Washington Post

• Pride Poems (A love poem a day)

• Ada Limón on how to write a poetry collection

---

Worth reading / trying

• 36 Ways to Live Differently

• The Kodai Chronicle is created and published by residents and friends of Kodaikanal and neighbouring areas.

• What would I be like now if I hadn’t lived online?

• I took the 16Personalities test. Turns out, I’m a Mediator (INFP).

• The Periodic Table of Storytelling

• Where You At? A Bioregional Quiz

---

Classifieds (nom nom)

Sundooq brings you culture on a plate. The New Delhi-based brand crafts heirloom recipe mixes inspired by regional Indian kitchens, that let you make a feast, without any fuss. Favourite family recipes in their ready-to-cook avatar that are super simple to cook. Sundooq takes away the complexities of sourcing the right ingredients and proportions, and lets you experience and taste the flavours as if made from scratch, perfectly delicious every time.

Use the code ALIPORE to get a 15% off on all their products. 

---

I leave you with this parting thought:

“Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.”
-Alan Watts

Keep your eyes open, and witness the magnificence of life around you.

Love,
Rohini

---

If you feel like supporting The Alipore Post, you can become a paid subscriber, buy me a coffee, be a part of the Instagram community at @thealiporepost or tell a friend to sign up. 🌷