3.The voice of the Rain

The voice of the Rain
by Walt Whiteman

Introduction: The poem is a dialogue between the poet and the rain former vehicle in itself the Poem of Earth , it explains its lifecycle. Rising from the sea and the land in vaporous  form, the raindrops fall back giving the world relief from drought and settling dust all over. It stimulates the dormant seeds to life and by soaking the earth once again it heads for a fresh lifecycle. A parallel is drawn between music and rain.

The voice of the rain 
And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,
Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:
I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain
Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the
bottomless sea,

Who art thou – Who are you
Eternal – never-ending
Impalpable – which cannot be described

Explanation:
In the above lines, the poet as the soft-falling Shower  ‘who are you' ? to which the rain replied in a strange to state manner. The rain said that it was the Poem of the Earth and it is rose continuously from the land and bottomless ocean in the form of vapours.

Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form’d, altogether changed, and yet the same,
I descend to lave the droughts, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,
And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;

Whence – where
Vaguely – not clearly
Descend – come down
Lave – wash; bathe
Atomics – small particles
Latent – hidden/buried

Explanation 
The rain tells the poet that it rises upwards towards the sky in the form of vapour where it changes its form (condenses into water droplets). It also says that although its form gets changed, it still remains the same.
The rain comes down to wash the drought and provide water. It also washes away the dust and small particles from the earth’s surface. And the seeds inside the earth grow into a plant because of the water provided by the rain. It gives life to the seeds.

And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin,
And make pure and beautify it;
(For the song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfillment, wandering
Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.)

Reck’d or unreck’d – it means whether cared for or not cared for. It doesn’t affect the rain nor the poet if someone listened to the rain or not.

Explanation

The rain says that by day and night it provides life, care, enrichment, and water to the place from where it originated. The rain keeps enhancing the beauty and purity of the earth by preparing a life-cycle for itself again.
(The Rain is like a song that originates from its birth-place, just like the heart of the singer, and travels to fulfil the earth’s needs and wanders. It finally comes back to the place from where it originated. Whether it is ruined or not, it returns to the original position, with a lot of love to its birth-place).

Poetic devices used in the poem

Personification:  “And who art thou”? Although rain is non living thing yet the poet treats it like living thing. 

Metaphor : ‘I am the poem of the Earth'

Imagery : ‘ soft-falling shower ’