Impossible Rainbows

The salt marsh fades
beneath sky tinged with grey

and a violet obsession.

Wielding its thunder-axe,
the storm’s hooves skid and the sky cracks

fusing the horizon.

Dandelions spatter
verges, thirsting for some pitter-patter

while I insist I’m right as rain.

I’m ready to brave
a nor’easter, given the promise of a stormy day

and rainbows impossible to follow to their ends.

Kim M. Russell, 4th April 2026

Image by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash

On Day Four of NaPoWriMo 2026, our optional prompt asks us to read the poem ‘Spring Thunder’, by Mark van Doren, a ‘short, haunting evocation of weather and the change in seasons’.

Our challenge is to write short poems that involve a weather phenomenon and some aspect of the season. We should use rhyme and keep our lines of roughly even length. I’ve reworked an old poem from 2024.

38 thoughts on “Impossible Rainbows”

  2. You’ve capture it, Kim.

    I especially like the final lines:

    “Dandelions spatter
    verges, thirsting for some pitter-patter

    while I insist I’m right as rain.

    I’m ready to brave
    a nor’easter, given the promise of a stormy day

    and rainbows impossible to follow to their ends.”

    I think a poem in itself.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  3. Hi Kim, I like the phrase ‘violet obsession’ and the lines ‘Wielding its thunder-axe,
    the storm’s hooves skid and the sky cracks/fusing the horizon,’ perfectly describes an impending storm. Nicely done.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
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