Family and Rainstorm, 1955, by D.S. Martin

Family and Rainstorm, by Alex Colville (Canada) 1955.

Family & Rainstorm, 1955

As Alex Colville has painted it
a young mother watches an approaching storm
across the wide river

She holds open the door
of their mastodon sedan
for her children to take shelter

The interior of the door is as plain
as the fifties   The solid lines
of automotive bulk point to the darkening sky

The pleats of her white dress are real
The yellow grass beneath their bare feet
is real   so is the coming rain

I wasn’t even born then   but as I watch
the family entering the car
I know   the rain is almost upon me

D.S. Martin

This poem was previously published in Poiema (2008, Wipf & Stock).

D.S. Martin is the author of four poetry collections, including Ampersand (2018), & Conspiracy of Light: Poems Inspired by the Legacy of C.S. Lewis (2013) -- both from Cascade Books. He is Poet-in-Residence at McMaster Divinity College, the Series Editor for the Poiema Poetry Series, and has recently edited two anthologies -- The Turning Aside (2016), andAdam, Eve, & the Riders of the Apocalypse (2017). He and his wife live in Brampton, Ontario; they have two adult sons.