Exploring the Colors of Emotion in My Poem Rainbow Street

Poetry often captures moments that feel both fragile and powerful. My poem Rainbow Street, published in Orbis Literary Journals 214 Winter 2025, explores light, doubt, and connection in a world that feels both enclosed and expansive. Before diving into the meaning behind the poem, I want to share the full text exactly as it appears in the journal:

Rainbow Street

the light goes through

water droplets

crystallised mirrors

delicate yet strong

refracting and split

into a rainbow

the light captures the shape

of trees, cars, houses

defines what is

and lets shadows exist

the rainbow cannot exist

without rain like doubt coming

where things could go this way or that

the world has shut down

and we are enclosed in small spaces

I am blind from the laptop glare

my finger touches the screen

wanting to hold my boyfriend

light comes through the drops again

if I rise high enough

the rainbow won’t be just an arc

but a perfect circle

Thanks to Carole Baldock, editor of Orbis, for choosing and publishing the poem. You can read more about Orbis here https://www.orbisjournal.co.uk/

A quiet street with a faint rainbow arching over houses and trees

The Light and Water: A Metaphor for Emotion

The poem opens with light passing through water droplets, described as "crystallised mirrors." This image is delicate but also strong, reflecting how emotions can be both fragile and resilient. The light refracts and splits into a rainbow, symbolising the many colours or facets of feeling.

In poetry, light often represents clarity, hope, or truth. Water droplets here act as the medium that transforms light into something visible and beautiful. This transformation mirrors how our emotions can change when filtered through experience or perspective.

The poem’s focus on "trees, cars, houses" grounds the imagery in everyday life. These are ordinary things, yet the light captures their shape, defining reality while allowing shadows—uncertainty or hidden feelings—to exist. This balance between light and shadow reflects the complexity of human emotion.

Doubt as Rain: The Necessary Contrast

The poem states, "the rainbow cannot exist without rain like doubt coming." This line connects doubt with rain, suggesting that uncertainty is essential for growth and beauty. Doubt is not just a negative feeling but a force that shapes possibilities, where "things could go this way or that."

This idea resonates deeply with poets who often wrestle with uncertainty in their creative process and life choices. Doubt can feel uncomfortable, but it also opens space for new directions and insights.

Isolation and Connection in a Changed World

The middle section shifts tone, reflecting a world that has "shut down" and people enclosed in small spaces. This likely refers to recent global experiences of isolation, where physical distance challenged emotional closeness.

The line "I am blind from the laptop glare" captures a modern reality in which digital connection replaces physical presence. The speaker’s finger touching the screen, "wanting to hold my boyfriend," expresses longing and the limits of technology in fulfilling emotional needs.

This part of the poem connects personal experience with broader social realities, making it relatable for many readers who have felt similar isolation.

Rising Above: The Rainbow as a Perfect Circle

The poem ends with a hopeful image: "if I rise high enough / the rainbow won’t be just an arc / but a perfect circle." This suggests that from a higher perspective, what seems incomplete or fragmented can become whole.

The perfect circle of the rainbow symbolises completeness, unity, and perhaps a deeper understanding of life’s complexities. It invites readers to imagine rising above doubt and isolation to see the full spectrum of experience.

Why This Poem Matters to Me

Writing Rainbow Street was a way to process feelings of uncertainty and longing during a time when the world felt paused. The poem’s imagery came from moments of watching rain and light outside my window, combined with the emotional distance from loved ones.

Sharing this poem in Orbis Literary Journals was meaningful because it connected my personal story with a wider audience of poetry lovers. Poetry has a unique power to express what is often hard to say directly, and Rainbow Street uses simple images to explore complex emotions.

How Poets Can Use This Poem as Inspiration

• Use everyday images to explore deep feelings. The poem’s focus on light, rain, and familiar objects shows how ordinary scenes can carry emotional weight.

• Embrace doubt as part of creativity. Doubt is not a barrier but a necessary part of the poetic process and life’s choices.

• Reflect current realities honestly. The poem’s reference to isolation and digital connection grounds it in a specific time, making it authentic and relatable.

• End with hope or a new perspective. The image of the perfect circle invites readers to look beyond immediate struggles.

  
  

Final Thoughts on Rainbow Street

Rainbow Street is a small poem with a big heart. It captures the tension between fragility and strength, doubt and clarity, isolation and connection. For poets, it offers a reminder that poetry can transform everyday moments into meaningful reflections.

If you write poetry, consider how your own experiences of light and shadow, doubt and hope, can shape your work. Poetry invites us to see the world—and ourselves—in new colors.

What colors do you see in your poetry? How do you capture the emotions that shape your days? I hope Rainbow Street encourages you to explore those questions in your own writing.