Museum of Modern Art

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art prompts, Betsy Johnson-Miller, Games that Ogres Play, It's Raining in Honolulu, Jim Sallis, Joy Harjo, Kenji Miyazawa, Lawrence Raab, Millane's Creativity Club, Museum of Modern Art, My Work, Ocean Power, Ofelia Zepeda, Painting Rain, Paula Meehan, poetry drafts, poetry exercises, poetry lab, poetry prompts, Pulling Down the Clouds, Rain Room, rain sounds, rain themed art, rain themed poetry, Rain When I Want Rain, Rain's Eagerness, Strong in the Rain, Visible Signs, Why It Often Rains in the Movies, writing prompts

The Rain Room at the Museum of Modern Art. New York, NY. Friday, June 14, 2013.

Anyone lucky enough to have visited the Museum of Modern Art last summer, could have enjoyed its fun Rain Room installation without ever getting wet. While most of us here in South Louisiana did not have that luxury, we are all very much acquainted with Nature’s slippery friend. After a few mind-numbing days of downpours, one simply must retreat to the clean, dry page.

Alas, even there rain-themed verse is to be had aplenty. But with the sheer beauty of such lines as “Rain opens us, like flowers, or earth that has been thirsty for more/than a season” from Harjo’s “It’s Raining in Honolulu” (full-text below), who would not want to have a good soak. Enjoy this poem and the four other selections before we move on to penning our own.

It’s Raining in Honolulu
by Joy Harjo

There is a small mist at the brow of the mountain,
each leaf of flower, of taro, tree and bush shivers with ecstasy.

And the rain songs of all the flowering ones who have called for the rain

can be found there, flourishing
beneath the currents of singing. rainh

Rain opens us, like flowers, or earth that has been thirsty for more
than a season.
We stop all of our talking, quit writing or blowing sax to drink the
mystery invoked
by the night rain.

We listen to the breathing beneath our breathing.

This is how we became rain.

Translated, this means a white flower behind your ear is saturated with
faith after the second overthrow.

We will plant taro where there were curses.

That’s such a gorgeous one. Hard to beat a women in tune with the earth! Next have a listen to Rodney Jones reading “Rain on Tin” (text accompanies). Then peruse:

Lawrence Raab‘s “Why It Often Rains in the Movies” from Visible Signs.

Ofelia Zepeda’s “Pulling Down the Clouds” from Ocean Power

Kenji Miyazawa’s “Strong in the Rain” from same-titled collection

And if that doesn’t get you in the mood to write something slick, trying mixing your own rain tract up over at NatureSoundsForMe. Or for those artists out there, try digging into the Singing and Dancing in Rain art prompt over at Milliane’s Creativity Club. You might like to use some of the images below for something similar to that one, or pull from the Rain art board on Pinterest.