Rain and Thunderclaps
music evokes the soul
anticipatory hush
speechless in my role
heavy rainfall on the roof
echoes thunderous applause
A stranger gives me gladioli blooms wrapped in a damp paper bouquet. The flowers have a heady scent of petrichor. Their petals glint with droplets from the heavy summer rain that also patters upon the shoulders of the huddled silhouettes that crowd around the stage door… waiting for me.
I raise my head up as they thank me for the portrayal of the deaf-blind legend, Helen Keller, to look into their glistening faces in the dark. The light spilling from the open stage door casts a warm yellow glow on their congratulatory expressions, and I smile and feel overwhelmed.
Lesley Scoble, August 2024
I wrote my tanka prose in response to the W3 Poetry Prompt #119. The incredible writer (and artist) Robbie Cheadle is the Poet-of-the-Week. Robbie’s prompt is to write To write “an impactful childhood memory and how it affected you. To write it in any combination of prose or poetry.” (I wrote mine in tanka prose)
To see Robbie’s full guidelines, click below.
Robbie’s prompt guidelines
- Theme: An impactful childhood memory & how it affected you at the time
- Form: Any combination of prose and poetry, including, but not limited to (click for descriptions):
1. Haibun
2. Tanka prose
3. Prose combined with a free verse poem
4. Prose poetry
The impact on my childhood memory
My tanka prose poem is based on a childhood memory from when I was twelve. I was playing in a theatre production of The Miracle Worker by William Gibson. Throughout the play, on that long ago rainy night, the rain was torrential. From the stage, we could hear the rain clattering on the theatre’s roof. At the curtain call, the audience joined in the rain’s symphony. Their tumultuous hand clapping was similar in tone and rhythm to the rain.
The impact on my twelve-year-old’s memory was that every time I now hear heavy rain on a roof, I associate the sound with applause, and I, of course, must take a bow to acknowledge this grand ovation from the Gods!
Postscript
After appearing at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, the theatre burnt down. It might be correct to suggest that the play was such a success—it brought the house down!
Thank you, Robbie, for your prompt stirring up a happy childhood memory. Thank you, David, The Skeptics Kaddish, for hosting your inspirational poetry prompts each week.
Lesley lives in the City of London Square Mile. An artist, actor and sculptor (her first ceramic sculpture won the V&A inspired by… Award). Scenic artist & book illustrator, playwright (her musical play, Rapscallion performed in inner city schools and theatre school); TV dancer; Animator and illustrator for TV production. Set up Pinecone Studios Ltd and IIMSI Ltd drama and filmmaking workshops in London – producing award-winning films made by children.
LesleyScoble.com 
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