After The Rain

After The Rain... I think this elusive poem, still lumpy, needs the critical eye of Last Friday Folk.  It is almost musical in places then jumps the track in others.  Puncuation is also inconsistent...I do like the images. I welcome all suggestions.  Dewell


AFTER THE RAIN



Silence

hangs pale

over the garden.



Damp, fresh, clean

earth drinks its fill, sighs.

Picket fence releases prayers of vapor.

 

Rainbows

embrace the sky

lush with early omen.



Clouds

of starlings skitter about, glean.

Wind and light tease each other.



Earth

holds its breath

for a milli-second.



Grandma taps an egg

on the rim of the mixing bowl,

waits for the miracle to slip out.



-Dewell H. Byrd

Dewell,  Nice rainy weather poem.  We could use it here and there is hope.  I like the clean fresh smell that isn't mentioned but is here all the same. And the prayers of vapor was so poetic.  The picture is full of things you would experience after the shower, except for Grandma and the egg.  I see that as a Haiku and not meant for this poem. Nothing in the picture leads me in that direction.   Maybe you could mention late afternoon as "pale" might picture or it does to me.  You might move the word "Damp" on a line by itself since the other strophes appear to have a word they follow and define.  By that, I mean you have: Silence, rainbows, clouds, earth, so why not put "damp" on a line above the other lines.  Hope that helps.  Dennis

AFTER THE RAIN

Silence
hangs pale 
over the garden. (the tone is not overly hopeful)

Earth
holds its breath
for a milli-second.

Damp, fresh, clean
earth drinks its fill, sighs. (The grammar suggests that the three adjectives modify "earth)
Picket fence releases prayers of vapor. (I wonder if this should be a simile..."like vapor)

Rainbows
embrace the sky (I am thrown by "embrace" seems a contrast in tone with "omen")
lush with early omen.

Clouds 
of starlings skitter about, glean.
Wind and light tease each other. (this line leaves birds; maybe put it in another place in the poem?)

Grandma taps an egg
on the rim of the mixing bowl,
waits for the miracle to slip out.


-Dewell H. Byrd

and I like it. Just stay with a form. Maybe Put a noun as the first line of the stanza, then maybe a verb, third line could be a metaphor. For example: Silence/ hangs pale/ over the garden like fog. Each stanza could be a complete thought. I would stay with nature throughout. I'd be sure I had all the senses covered: smell, sight, sounds, taste, etc. Maybe rainbows bloom in the sky?
I'd drop the last stanza. Title works for me. Earth has a pungent smell after a good rain. Nice.