Although this is clearly a “workshop” poem, there’s a natural yet grandiose tone in some of the lines which suits the subject matter perfectly. “The time of an enormous flood” sounds biblical in its simplicity, and the last two lines are really what make the poem for me.
First, there is the command that we turn to the thing we fear most. I also liked the “hail stones” threat - so much more frightening than a drop of rain. The final demand “Bow down to me or you will drown like a kitten” packs an even harder punch; man becomes like a tiny beast, as small and helpless as a kitten. Underlying it all, there could be the general message that we should both fear and respect the elements.
Eva Salzman
Goddess of Rain My name is Lightning.
I am the goddess of rain.
You will hear me at the time of an enormous flood.
You will never see me.
I’m invisible.
My name is Lightning.
I am the goddess of rain, a fearsome goddess who brings floods and tidal waves.
My name is Lightning.
I am the goddess of rain.
Turn to me or you will turn to hail stones.
Bow down to me or you will drown like a kitten.
Nafisa Patel
Nafisa Patel, 11, receives the “Red-All-Over-Riddle Book” by George Szirtes (Faber) . Submitted by Ciaran Clerkin of Selwyn primary school, London E13, who receives a set of Poetry Society posters with teacher’s notes. Please send students’ poems, preferably no longer than 20 lines, to ‘TES’ Young Poet, Admiral House, 66-68 East Smithfield, London E1 9XY. Eva Salzman is writer-in-residence at the Bromley-by-Bow Centre in east London. She has published two volumes of poetry: “Bargain with the Watchman” (Oxford University Press) and “The English Earthquake” (Bloodaxe)
