Art & Poem Post: No Stranger to the Rain

[minoanmiss]

Stranger to the Rain
By Stephen Schwartz

[YONAH]
Shed no tears for me
There'll be rain enough today
I'm wishing you godspeed
As I wave you on your way
This won't be the first time
I've stayed behind to face
The bitter consequences
Of an ancient fall from grace
I'm a daughter of the race of Cain
I am not a stranger to the rain

Orphan in the storm
That's a role I've played before
I've learned not to tremble
When I hear the thunder roar
I don't curse what I can't change
I just play the hand I'm dealt
When they lighten up the rations
I tighten up my belt
I won't say I've never felt the pain
But I am not a stranger to the rain

And for the boy who's given me
The sweetest love I've known
I wish for him another love
So he won't be alone
Because I am bound to walk
Among the wounded and the slain
And when the storm comes
Crashing on the plain
I will dance before the lightning
To music sacred and profane

Oh, shed no tears for me
Light no candle for my sake
This journey I'll be making
Is one we all must make
Shoulder to the wind
I'll turn my face into the spray
And when the heavens open
Let the drops fall where they may
If they finally wash away the stain
From a daughter of the race of Cain
I am not a stranger to the rain

Let it rain!

Comments

[amaebi]

Ooooooooooh.

[minoanmiss]

*beams*

[hitchhiker]

beautiful! and i love your illustration too

[minoanmiss]

Thank you! I so love that song!

[baranduin]

This is so wonderful, poem and illustration.

[minoanmiss]

Thank you so much. I really love his musicals. They give me the skin tingles.

[sabotabby]

Oooh, lovely. She's got such dynamism.

[minoanmiss]

*hugs you a lot*

Thank you.

[nagi_schwarz]

Thank you for sharing! Your art is lovely.

[minoanmiss]

Aww, thank you! I should probably get some training sometime.

[acelightning]

It took me a few minutes to track down the context of this, and I found a video of it as a song. But Yonah is a clever woman, and she is also a survivor, and she winds up not having to face the world-storm alone.

I love the picture! "I will dance before the lightning, To music sacred and profane" I can tell from her body language that she is dancing to the music of a tambourine and an oud, with thunder taking the bass part. While the small figures are beaten down by the storm, she stands up and proudly defies its force with her dance.

And since I am not a follower of the Book, I don't believe in the curse of Cain... I believe that all the children of Adam are one family, all loved the same by their Mother and their Father. But I agree that in the face of adversity, it's wise to dance!

[eftychia]

And suddenly I want to improvise to a thunderstorm on my oud with a dancer and a tamoburinist.

[acelightning]

I bought a "foot tambourine" so I could accompany my ukulele with rhythm (although after I had the stroke last year, the fingers of my left hand simply refused to form the chords on the strings of the uke. I've been working on this, but I have other kinds of physical rehabilitation that require my attention.)

[tibicina]

I always loved that song and your illustration of it is awesome.

[minoanmiss]

EEE yay! It means so much to me that you think I did right by that gorgeous song.

[med_cat]

Striking

[minoanmiss]

Hee, she does look a bit like she kicked that poor guy.

[annonynous.livejournal.com]

"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance."

Ann O. (of the minimum of two left feet)

[minoanmiss]

*laughs*

[darkmarcy]

Whenever I see a cut text along the likes of "A poem and a drawing" or the likes of it from you, I get excited :D

I specially like the details of the dress and the repeating colours of her headband and the use of texture in her thought bubble. And the second, crouching stick figure! Gestures are important and making them with just few lines takes skill! Also those are some amazing lyrics.

[minoanmiss]

*hugs this to my heart* It has taken me so long to reply in large part because I didn't want to let this awesometastic comment out of my inbox. Thank you, ma belle.

[cjsmith]

am I the only one who reads this as incredibly sad?

[annonynous.livejournal.com]

I doubt it. I do, too.

Ann O.

[minoanmiss]

It's very sad. And also defiant. And also life-affirming in the face of death. All of which is why I had to draw her.

[cjsmith]

❤️❤️❤️