Before The Bloom - By: Shivaathmika Jayapal

In the garden

Under pouring rain

I sit.

The snow has melted

Leaving puddles in its place.

Wait—there's white on the branch;

Is it

A soft beautiful bud

Marking the air with the scent of spring—or

Water,

Clean water,

Rain water,

With the light from the gray sky's focus, spotted.

Tiny droplets

Drip.

Drip.

Dripping

On the yellow, prickly grass.

When will the flowers

Bloom

For me?

Oh buds, your absence stings like frost

Still lingering

Please give a detailed explanation about the meaning and main idea of this poem.

Before the Bloom is a quiet reflection on the emotional stillness that exists between seasons — not just in nature, but within ourselves. I wrote it just days after sitting outside, right after the snow had melted. Everything felt like it was about to change, but hadn’t yet. The rain was falling, the ground was wet, and the world felt paused — in that strange space between “not anymore” and “not yet.”

The poem uses the garden as a metaphor for that internal in-between space. The white speck on the branch — maybe a bud, maybe a raindrop — represents our human tendency to search for signs of growth and hope, even when we're unsure they’re real. Through the slow repetition of “Drip. Drip. Dripping”, I wanted to express the quiet persistence of longing and time passing, moment by moment.

This isn’t just a nature poem. It’s about longing, about absence, and about wondering when something will finally begin to grow — not just outside, but within us.

Please explain your writing and thought process regarding this poem.

This poem started with a real moment: me sitting outside a few days ago, in the cold, post-snow rain. I was watching the last of the snow disappear into puddles and looking at the trees, hoping for signs of spring. That in-between feeling — after the snow, before the bloom — stayed with me, and I needed to write about it. I focused on imagery that felt soft and subtle, because that’s how the moment felt. Still, a little heavy, but strangely hopeful. I played with repetition and line breaks to slow the pace and help the reader move through the poem like you’d move through a rain-soaked garden — gently, listening to the details. Throughout, I was trying to hold space for uncertainty. That white spot on the branch was real — I remember looking at it and wondering: is this something beginning, or just another drop of water? That question became the poem.

Why did you choose to write this poem?

I wrote Before the Bloom because I needed a way to hold and express that strange, in-between moment I’d just experienced — where nothing looks the same, but nothing feels different yet. That kind of limbo is quiet, but emotional, and often overlooked. It’s rare to catch yourself in real-time stillness, especially in nature. But when I did, sitting outside after the snow had melted, it brought up something deeper — a longing for change, a desire for beauty, and the ache of waiting. Writing this poem helped me sit with that feeling instead of rushing past it. I chose to write it because I think there’s beauty in those pauses. The ones that don’t feel big or dramatic, but still leave a mark. I wanted to honor that space — where you’re not blooming yet, but you’re ready.

Do you have any tips or anything to share with the youth writers who may be reading this?

Write from your heart. It sounds really cringy, but writing is emotions on a page that allows you to feel. If you are ever facing writer's block, use your emotions to start.