Lines 1-2

The verb phrase "will come" in both the title and the first line of "There Will Come Soft Rains" indicates that the poem takes place in the future, but whether the future is an hour away, a day away, or many years away is not clear. Not until the end of the poem is there an implication that the time the poem looks forward to is actually a season away—a time when spring comes around again. The "soft rains" are the gentle showers of springtime that dampen the ground and bring out its earthy scents of wet grass and mud. Spring also means the return of birds, and "swallows" are a good choice to describe as making a "shimmering sound" because of their graceful, swift movements in the air.

Lines 3-4

Lines 3 and 4 introduce more elements of nature in the form of frogs, pools, and...