Molly Williams

Period 2
Manchu Women Poets Writing Sample

After the Rain

by​ ​Sibo

The clear skies following the rain are great:

The wind is pure, the scenery is quiet-

Below the hedge early chrysanthemums

Above the rivers gulls both white and light.

A lucid dew, as streams and brooks are cold,
And chilly clouds, as plants and trees all wither.
There is no need to add to my emotion:
For all eternity the single grave!

This poem describes a landscape after a rain, likely in early spring due to the
chrysanthemums and chill mentioned. In this poem, rain has brought gray skies and cold - and
after it stops and the clouds dissipate, the sky becomes clear and bright. The imagery of chilly
springtime rain brings to mind washed out colors, dew, and plants just beginning to grow, trees
just beginning to bud.
The second half of the poem mentions withering plants and trees - living things dying and
becoming gray. It ends with a sense of hopelessness as the poet comments on how emotional she
feels. Overall, this poem uses descriptive imagery to evoke clean and stark colors, feelings, and
spaces.
I knew I wanted to give this painting a sense of big empty spaces, so I didn’t fill it up
with much. I tried to make the sky clear and gray to match the tone of the poem. I put some trees
without any leaves on them to invoke whatever the opposite of lush and verdant is. The poem
mentions a white, light gull soaring above a cold river, so I added that too. Lastly, to include that
hint of new life and hope, I added some little pink flowers, meant to be chrysanthemums, along
the trees.

Art definitely allows us to transcend the urban landscape - developed areas are full of
noise, people, and things happening. This can be wonderful and exciting, and people need human
contact and a social structure, but they also need quiet open spaces too. Nature affords reflection
and emotional healing, a chance to see beauty and revel in one’s own feelings and thoughts. It
can be very rewarding to have a lot of time and space to process. Feelings, emotions, and
reflection are made possible anywhere, with art. It can be difficult to do however, especially if
you are inexperienced like myself. It is easy to be filled with emotion when looking at poetry and
nature, but it can be difficult to create or convey these feelings. I especially have trouble
condensing complex emotions and ideas into words and images.. It was also hard to look past my
desire to make things pretty and perfect. I haven’t painted anything in a very long time and it was
surprisingly fun and rewarding. I appreciated having a different medium to work with other than
words.