Rainy Day
Concept: Picture books can also tackle serious concepts and make them more accessible to children. In this book, I take the struggles of having a parent with depression and use the analogy of having a ‘rainy day in the head.’
Style: Very structured and lyrical. AABB rhyme scheme with iambic pentameter.
[Note for Betas - would the poem be stronger if I assigned a gender to the child?]
[Note for Betas - this one is about 100 words longer than I’d like. Are there any stanzas you think could be cut or combined?]
My dad has days where he feels very blue.
On days like these, there’s not much we can do.
He stays in bed, and Mom says that’s okay.
On days like these, Dad doesn’t want to play.
I asked why Dad can’t chase me ‘round the yard.
Mom said he has depression, and it’s hard.
I asked what that word means, and my mom said,
“It’s like a rainy day inside his head.”
[Beta Question - How much does that tense change bug you? I did it for the said / head rhyme, and justify it like this ONE conversation happened in the past and the rest is in the present, but it still feels a little icky to me. Let me know if you think I should find a different rhyme and change the tense.]
When rainy clouds follow my dad around
He doesn’t want to climb the pitcher’s mound.
He doesn’t want to hug our favorite tree.
He doesn’t want to play outside with me.
Mom promises the rainy days won’t last
And soon we will be laughing, running fast.
‘Til then, I’ll wait and hope the day is near
For rainclouds that are in his head to clear.
Unless… Can I help shoo these clouds along?
I’ll chase them with a very happy song!
I’ll sing and bang my drum so strong and loud
It will destroy my dad’s big rainy cloud.
But Dad asks me to please stop making noise,
And Mom reminds me I have quiet toys.
That cloud is being such a gloomy pest.
To make it leave, I’ll have to try my best!
I make him pictures with my brightest paints.
I do all of my chores with no complaints.
I tell my dad a joke to make him laugh.
I bring him toys – a whale and a giraffe.
I show my dad a funky dancing style.
I make a face that’s sure to make him smile.
But all my dad can do is sleep, and sigh.
The cloud won’t leave, however hard I try.
My mom says it’s okay if I feel sad.
She says she knows I want to play with Dad
But sometimes skies are cloudy, wet, and gray
And we can’t force the rain to go away.
I’m sitting at the window as I pout.
Today it’s raining both inside and out.
There’s nothing I can do but stay inside
But wait – here are some things I haven’t tried!
I can pretend my yard’s a squishy swamp,
Find puddles where my boots can splash and stomp,
Curl up with cocoa while Mom reads a book,
Put on an apron and learn how to cook,
Get all my trucks and put them on display
There are ways to enjoy a rainy day!
And maybe my dad’s clouds are just the same
Those clouds might need a different sort of game
My dad can’t run around with me, it’s true,
But we still have fun things that we can do.
Like, I can color softly in his room.
I’ll pick some flowers and we’ll watch them bloom.
I’ll build a blanket fort for cozy naps,
And Mom will bring us tea and ginger snaps,
And maybe I’ll give softer songs a chance,
And Dad can bob his head instead of dance.
We’ll cuddle by a crackling fireplace,
And sometimes I just need to give him space.
I understand the rain might stay a while,
And know it’s not my fault if Dad can’t smile.
It’s different, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad.
I still love spending lots of time with Dad.
Those rain clouds can’t be forced to go away
But there are lots of other ways to play!
And when those clouds have rained themselves all dry,
And not a bit of gray is in the sky,
Dad’s head again is sunny, bright, and clear,
And all our favorite games will still be here.
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