There will come soft rain and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white;
Robins will wear their feathery fire,
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;
And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
Analysis and Thoughts: The author describes nature using the senses of a living being to give nature life and meaning.
Words like “smell of the ground,” “shallows circling,” “shimmering sound,” and “Robins will wear,” she personifies nature to give it a human-like approach.
She sums up her thoughts saying “Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree”, but that one is not mankind whom she feels could perish without being missed. For her nature exists alone.
Soft rain has been referred to being like white noise, able to calm us down. The words turn us to nature which also reduces anger, fear, and stress and increases pleasant feelings.