Three short stanzas follow a storm from its first hint to its full arrival. In the opening, the wind is gentle, almost lazy, drifting through the trees and over river bends. But the phrase "biding time" tells us something is being held back. By the second stanza the light is going, and the forest feels watchful. "The earth holds her breath" captures that hush before a storm, when everything seems to wait.
Then the storm breaks. Rain snaps branches, and the wind "shrieks with glee," a surprising phrase that makes the violence feel joyful rather than frightening. The speaker never says "I," but the tone suggests awe and delight more than fear. The wind is almost a character, patient at first and then finally free.
The mood moves from calm to tension to release. The title and the subtitle suggest a quick, spontaneous piece written in response to rain, and that energy fits the poem's loose, rushing feel.