She Weeps over Rahoon
Rain on Rahoon falls softly, softly falling,
Where my dark lover lies.
Sad is his voice that calls me, sadly calling,
At grey moonrise.
Love, hear thou
How soft, how sad his voice is ever calling,
Ever unanswered, and the dark rain falling,
Then as now.
Dark too our hearts, O love, shall lie and cold
As his sad heart has lain
Under the moongrey nettles, the black mould
And muttering rain.
This elegiac poem explores themes of loss and unrequited love. The steady rhythm of falling rain mirrors the speaker's relentless sorrow. The dark and dreary landscape reflects the emotional weight of the speaker's grief.
Compared to the author's other works, this poem exhibits a more personal and introspective tone. It departs from the urban themes of his earlier works, focusing instead on the emotional turmoil of a solitary figure.
The poem's depiction of nature as a reflection of the speaker's inner state is characteristic of the Romantic era, in which emotions and the natural world were closely intertwined. The poem's emphasis on the enduring nature of loss also aligns with the era's preoccupation with melancholy and nostalgia.