On Being Thankful for the Rain

Here in mid-South Africa our rains traditionally arrive at the beginning of October and they are so very welcome after a long, dry winter.  To give you an idea of our winters - daytime temperatures hover around the 24C mark with some slightly colder or hotter days.  Only the fairly chilly nights demarcate summer from winter.  I should also mention that we only have two seasons a year - summer and winter and, even then, these tend to overlap and merge into each other at times.

What glorious rain we had yesterday where I live in Lombardy East, Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Rain clouds in Lombardy East, October 2017

The poem is dedicated to my South African, Dutch and Flemish friends who will understand it.  A lot of the nuances are lost in translation but I'll see what I can do in English for my non-Afrikaans-understanding friends.

For a little English person, I guess I didn't forget my Afrikaans roots after all. While we were enjoying the most glorious rain yesterday, we were talking about the farmers saying that 'die reen kom om en by Oom Paul se verjaarsdag' (the rains will arrive around Paul Kruger's birthday - 10 October). So, this Sunday morning I wrote a Thank You, Lord, poem - in Afrikaans.

DIS OKTOBER MAAND EN ONS WERELD SLUK ASEM Die grond se dors Inkrimp die are Van mens Van dier Van plant Van aarde ‘n Dors wat duur ‘n Dors wat talm ‘n Dors wat die hart En die lewe Laat staan En toe kom Die Dag En toe kom Die Nag Dis ‘n kosbare tyd van die jaar Elke jaar Dis ‘n kosbare tyd van die jaar Elke liewe jaar Ons kyk na die hemel Ons kyk na die son Ons kyk na die aarde En ons ervaar Dis ‘n wonderlike tyd van die jaar Elke jaar Elke liewe jaar Ons wereld sluk asem Ons wag vir die dag Van Oom Paul se verjaarsdag En die val En die val Van die reen Die dag van Oom Paul se geboorte ‘n tyd wat selfs die Hemel onthou Die tyd toe die lug Met opregte sug Toe begin van vreugde huil ‘n Tyd vir die mens Vir die plant Vir die dier ‘n Tyd van onbeskryflike plesier Toe ons nie meer hoef te skuil Van die droog Van die hitte Van die hitte en die bitter dors Ons wereld sluk asem Ons wag vir die dag Van Oom Paul se verjaarsdag En die val En die val Van Die Reen Ons dank U, Liewe Jesus Ons dank U, God ons Vader Ons dank U Vir die seën Van U kosbare reen Ons dank U, Liewe Jesus Ons dank U, God ons Vader Ons dank U Vir U Seën Ons dank U Vir die wonderbaarlike reen

IT’S OCTOBER MONTH AND OUR WORLD DRAWS BREATH The ground’s thirst Shrivel’s the veins Of man Of animal Of plant Of earth A thirst which endures A thirst which lingers A thirst which makes heart And makes life Stand still And then comes The Day And then comes The Night It’s a priceless time of the year Every year It’s a priceless time of the year Every single year We look to the heavens We look to the sun We look to the earth And we accept It’s a wonderful time of the year Every year Every single year Our world draws breath We wait for the day Of *Uncle Paul’s birthday And the fall And the fall Of the rain The day of Uncle Paul’s birth Is a day even Heaven remembers That time when the air With a sincere sigh Began to cry with joy A time for man For plant For beast A time of indescribable pleasure When we no longer need to hide away From the dry From the heat From the heat and bitter thirst Our world draws its breath We wait for the day Of *Uncle Paul’s birthday And the fall And the fall Of The Rain We thank You, Dear Jesus We thank You, God, our Father We thank You For the blessing Of Your priceless rain We thank You, Dear Jesus We thank You, God, our Father We thank You For Your Blessing We thank You For the miracle of rain (*Uncle is a polite way of referring to an older person, or someone who is dear to one – in this case, Paul Kruger, President of the South African Republic (or Transvaal) from 1883 to 1900.)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kruger)