Dave Bonta's short poem is a small celebration of a spring day. It begins with petrichor, the earthy smell that rises from soil after rain, and notes that the scent is strongest when the rain has been a long time coming. That detail sets up a feeling of relief: something awaited has finally arrived.
From there the speaker asks, almost playfully, who wouldn't choose a day like this for dancing. The answer arrives in the last image, where two pileated woodpeckers, side by side and cackling softly, work their way down a tall locust tree to the ground. They seem to be the dancers, moving together in their own hitching, bouncing way.
The speaker's feeling is quiet delight. Nothing dramatic happens, and the poem doesn't try to explain itself. The mood is warm, light and a little humorous, as if the speaker is simply glad to have noticed this moment. The title's phrase "rain date" also hints at a second chance, a day made good by waiting.