Boston's Secret Sidewalk Poems Add Some Cheer to Rainy Days

As East Coast cities continue to endure an unending spell of rain, many locals have started to forget that the sun even exists. But, over in Boston, it seems one group has discovered a silver lining to their cloudy days. Thanks to a partnership between Boston’s City Hall and Mass Poetry, a nonprofit that supports the Massachusetts poetry community, the city’s showers are being transformed into a hidden art project.

The project, appropriately titled “Raining Poetry,” uses biodegradable water-repellent spray to stencil poems on Boston's concrete streets. On a sunny day, the letters remain invisible. But once water hits them, the words of famous poets suddenly reveal themselves to unsuspecting passersby. In Roslindale and Uphams Corner, residents can encounter the untitled poems of Barbara Helfgott Hyett and Gary Duehr. Outside the Hyde Park Library, pedestrians can stumble across “Water” by Elizabeth McKim. And in Dudley Square, the words of Langston Hughes’ “Still Here” cry out from the sidewalk.