‘Equinoctial tears’

Weather Bureau map showing “The Great New England Hurricane’’ of Sept. 21, 1938, as it approached. The storm eventually turned north-northwest and was much stronger than this map indicates. It remains the region’s worst national disaster.

“She thinks that her equinoctial tears
and the rain that beats on the roof of the house
were both foretold by the almanac,
but only known to a grandmother.
The iron kettle sings on the stove.’’

— From “Sestina,’’ by Elizbeth Bishop (1911-1979), American poet

Here’s the whole poem:

https://allpoetry.com/poem/8493577-Sestina-by-Elizabeth-Bishop