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Notes About The Poem

Posted 19 January 2026, for the LET IT RAIN Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Nette Onclaud

Petrichor is the pleasant, earthy smell that occurs when rain falls on dry soil, a scent created by oils from plants and compounds like geosmin from soil bacteria, released into the air by raindrops. The word, coined by Australian scientists in 1964, comes from Greek words for "stone" (petra) and "blood of the gods" (ichor).

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Petrichor

Petrichor is hope that you can breathe
a soft splatter of pitter-pats on your senses
as raindrops succumb to endless pleas
to break the drought and emit
the essence of a thousand flowers
sealed in parched soil, as scent capsules
bursting forth as aerosols, smelt by a nose,
caressed by drops of rain and tears of joy,
running down your face in shiny rivulets of relief.

rainverse

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