Vine Colby. The Rainbow. Sara Teasdale, comp. 1917. The Answering Voice: One Hundred Love Lyrics by Women

Sara Teasdale, comp. (1884–1933).
The Answering Voice: One Hundred Love Lyrics by Women. 1917.

The Rainbow

By Vine Colby


WHOSE doorway was it, in the sordid street,
That gave us shelter from the sudden rain,—
Two vagrant sparrows on a dripping branch,
Waiting a moment to spread wing again?

The beggar children danced through pavement pools	5
Barefoot and joyous, splashing at their will;
The rain washed green that dusty sycamore
And straws swirled wildly down the gutter’s rill.

Fast-breathing from the run, our hands still clasped,
We leaned out laughing, shaking free our hair	10
Of dewy drops, while still the clouds poured down
A freshness that made heavenly the air.

Then we both saw, above the sodden world,
The Rainbow like a miracle appear,
And you said, whispering, “Oh, kiss me once	15
Before it fades!”—“Kiss me then quickly, Dear!”

One warm sweet touch of lips—then forth we went
Oblivious of all the rain and wet.
To-day I saw a rainbow after rain….
My heart remembered then—does yours forget?	20