"रेन ऑन द रूफ" (कोट्स किन्नी द्वारा) कवि के बचपन की मीठी यादों और बारिश के सुखद अहसास का वर्णन करती है। छत पर बारिश की टपटप (Patter) सुनते हुए कवि आरामदायक बिस्तर पर लेटे हैं, जिससे उन्हें अपनी माँ की याद आती है। यह कविता बारिश की आवाज़ के साथ पुरानी यादों में खो जाने के सुकून को दर्शाती है। 

• वर्षा का आनंद: जब काले बादल छा जाते हैं और बारिश शुरू होती है, तो कवि को बिस्तर में लेटे हुए छत पर पानी की टपटप सुनने में बहुत सुकून मिलता है।

From the title of the Poem-‘Rain on the Roof’, we can make out that the poem is about the rain. The poet is telling us about the memories he has of the rain. The sound of the raindrops falling on the roof of his house brings back sweet memories of the past

The poem ‘Rain on the Roof’ talks about the poet’s varied reactions to the sound of raindrops falling on the roof of his house. He says that the raindrops at night are like tears shed by the sad, dark night.
He loves to lie in bed and hear rain falling on the roof of his room because it gets back sweet memories of the past. He says that the sound of raindrops helps him fall asleep and gives him sweet dreams. He has memories of his loving mother who would put them to sleep.

‘Rain on the Roof’ कविता अपने घर की छत पर गिरने वाली बारिश की बूंदों की आवाज पर कवि की विविध प्रतिक्रियाओं के बारे में बात करती है। वह कहता है कि रात में बारिश की बूंदें उदास, अंधेरी रात में बहाए गए आँसुओं की तरह होती हैं।
वह बिस्तर पर लेटना और अपने कमरे की छत पर बारिश को गिरते हुए सुनना पसंद करता है क्योंकि इससे अतीत की मीठी यादें वापस आती हैं। वह कहता है कि बारिश की बूंदों की आवाज उसे सोने में मदद करती है और उसे मीठे सपने देती है। उसके पास अपनी प्यारी माँ की यादें हैं जो उसे बचपन में रात को सुलाती थी ।

Rain on the Roof Poem Explanation

Poem Stanza 1
When the humid shadows hover
Overall the starry spheres
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a bliss to press the pillow
Of a cottage-chamber bed
And lie listening to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead!

Explanation of the Poem: The poet is saying that when the humid shadows hover (here,‘humid shadows’ refers to dark clouds which are full of water). The poet is saying that when the sky is full of these clouds which are moisture-laden, are full of water, and are about to bring rain when such clouds hover around in the sky, overall the starry spheres (‘starry spheres’ refers to the sky at night time which is full of stars).
At that time, huge clouds which are full of moisture, move around in the sky and the sad darkness of the night is wiped off by the raindrops which seem like tears falling from the sky.
The poet is comparing raindrops to tears and he says that the dark sky which seems to be very sad, it appears as if it is crying and the raindrops are the tears shed by it. He adds that it is like a blessing to lie on the bed in his room(Cottage chamber means bedroom) and listens to the sound made by raindrops falling on the roof.

Poem Stanza 2
Every tinkle on the shingles
Has an echo in the heart;
And a thousand dreamy fancies
Into busy being start,
And a thousand recollections
Weave their air-threads into woof,
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof.

Word Meaning:
tinkle: short, light ringing sound
shingles: rectangular wooden tiles used on roofs
echo: repeated sound
woof: weft, i.es the thread woven across the loom
patter: the sound of raindrops falling on the roof
‘busy being’ refers to human beings and here, the poet is referring to himself

Explanation of the Poem: The poet is expressing his feelings when he hears the raindrops falling on the rooftop of his house. He says that every tinkle on the shingles has an echo in the heart.
Whenever he hears rain falling on the rooftop, the sound repeats in his heart, and in his dreams, he has many different, fanciful imaginations. He adds that this sound of the rain falling on the rooftop creates many new different dreams in his mind.
He recollects many memories of the past which come back into his mind as dreams. So, he says that as he listens to the patter of the rain upon the roof, he has many new dreams in his mind and the memories of the past come back in the form of dreams.

Poem Stanza 3
Now in memory comes my mother,
As she used in years agone,
To regard the darling dreamers
Ere she left them till the dawn:
O! I feel her fond look on me
As I list to this refrain
Which is played upon the shingles
By the patter of the rain.

Word Meaning:
ere: old poetic word for ‘before’
dawn: daybreak
list: old poetic word for’ listen’
refrain: a repeated part of a song or a poem; here, the sound of the rain

Poem Stanza 3
Now in memory comes my mother,
As she used in years agone,
To regard the darling dreamers
Ere she left them till the dawn:
O! I feel her fond look on me
As I list to this refrain
Which is played upon the shingles
By the patter of the rain.

Word Meaning:
ere: old poetic word for ‘before’
dawn: daybreak
list: old poetic word for’ listen’
refrain: a repeated part of a song or a poem; here, the sound of the rain

NCERT Textbook Questions Thinking about the poem (Page 42)

I.
Question 1.What do the following phrases mean to you? Discuss in class.

1. humid shadows
2. starry spheres
3. what a bliss
4. a thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start
5. a thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof

Answer:

1. Humid shadows: These are the shadows of different things which become wet during the rainy season.
2. Starry spheres: The area where stars appear in a group in the sky.
3. What a bliss: The poet feels happy when he listens to the rain drops.
4. A thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start: The poet starts recollecting the past and finds himself lost in reveries and dreams in the rainy weather.
5. A thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof: The poet recollects hundreds of memories in the rainy season. They weave a weft with the help of air-threads.

Question 2. What does the poet like to do when it rains?
Answer: When it rains the poet wants to lie on bed in a cottage and listen to pitter-patter sound of t

Question 3. What is the single major memory that comes to the poet’s mind? Who are the “darling dreamers” he refers to?
Answer: The poet’s mother is the single major memory that comes to his mind. ‘Darling dreamers’ are those ‘kids’ who remember their mothers like the poet.

Question 4. Is the poet now a child? Is his mother still alive?
Answer :No, the poet is not a child. His mother is no more. But her memories still haunt him.

II.

Question 1. When you were a young child, did your mother tuck you in, as the poet’s mother did?
Answer: Yes, my mother used to tuck me in when I was a child. Whenever I said that I could not do some work, she embraced me and took me in her lap to get that work done. She used to feel sad and dejected if I was involved in any mishap.

Question 2.Do you like rain? What do you do when it rains steadily or heavily as described in the poem?
Answer: Yes, I like rain and prefer to take a bath in the rain for some time. But when it rains heavily, I stay inside and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Question 3.Does everybody have a cosy bed to lie in when it rains? Look around you and describe how different kinds of people or animals spend time, seek shelter, etc. during rain.
Answer:No, everybody is not so fortunate to have a cosy bed to lie in when it rains. There are some people who live at the railway platforms and bus terminal. They don’t have even bed sheet, what to talk of comfortable beds.

There are so many animals which don’t have any shelter and tremble under the dark sky in the rainy season.