05/10/2025
"XA CHOVE" (“It’s raining”) © José Varela G. / This short Galician poem evokes a profound emotional landscape through the recurring image of rain. The repetition of “Xa chove” (“It’s raining now”) becomes a mantra—both a lament and a cleansing force. Rain is not just weather; it’s a metaphor for emotional release, for the silencing of inner fire (“vai parar o lume”) and the erasure of unheard verses. The poem speaks of invisibility and fragility: small verses that no one listens to, a soul burning quietly, and a love that may never find its object. The final stanza introduces a haunting existential question—“Would you never exist, so that you could be my good?”—suggesting that longing itself may be more real than the person longed for. Despite its brevity, the poem carries themes of solitude, memory, and the ephemeral nature of both language and love. It’s a whisper in the rain, echoing through time.
