George W. Mindling
If they try to persuade you that shooting makes rain,
You can tell them in substance they “give you a pain”.
If they argue that thunder precedes the downpour,
You can show them how badly they mix up their lore.
When the high swollen cloud drops a heavy rain dash,
It’s the splitting of raindrops makes the lightning flash,
Which in turn then produces the thunder’s loud crash.
So the rain is the starter – by good reason it is first –
Not the lightning’s bright flash or the thunder’s outburst.
But say the rain and the lightning and the thundering sound
Make a start all together in a race for the ground.
Now, the flash is perceived before thunder is heard,
Though the sound of the thunder outspeeds any bird.
Still the speed of the sound is some forty times faster
Than the speed of the raindrops a falling like plaster.
So, why shouldn’t you hear the loud roaring sound
A little bit sooner than the rain hits the ground?
