The Cloud

 I am the daughter of Earth and Water,

         And the nursling of the Sky;

I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;

         I change, but I cannot die.

For after the rain when with never a stain

         The pavilion of Heaven is bare,

And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams

         Build up the blue dome of air,

I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,

         And out of the caverns of rain,

Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,

         I arise and unbuild it again.

                                                      -Percy Bysshe Shelly

The clouds were amazing today.  I took this picture about 7:00 this evening.  Early in the day, cumulus clouds dominated the sky.  These clouds grew vertically until they turned into cumulonimbus clouds, rain clouds.  In Jamestown, it rained for the first time this year.  You do not dodge snow, but with rain you can't help but lengthen your stride laughing as you run.   The earth felt good today after the rain.  It smelled good too.  It was a beautiful day to be alive.

I'm currently reading The Cloudspotter's Guide written by Gavin Pretor-Pinney.  Pinney started the Cloud Appreciation Society.  What a superb idea!  You can find the international society by clicking here:  The Cloud Appreciation Society.   Every time I read their manifesto, I smile. 

The Manifesto of the Cloud Appreciation Society

WE BELIEVE that clouds are unjustly maligned
and that life would be immeasurably poorer without them.

We think that they are Nature’s poetry, 
and the most egalitarian of her displays, since 
everyone can have a fantastic view of them.

We pledge to fight ‘blue-sky thinking’ wherever we find it. 
Life would be dull if we had to look up at 
cloudless monotony day after day.

We seek to remind people that clouds are expressions of the 
atmosphere’s moods, and can be read like those of 
a person’s countenance.

Clouds are so commonplace that their beauty is often overlooked. 
They are for dreamers and their contemplation benefits the soul. 
Indeed, all who consider the shapes they see in them will save 
on psychoanalysis bills.

And so we say to all who’ll listen:
Look up, marvel at the ephemeral beauty, and live life with your head in the clouds!
 

 "The Cloud" is a much longer poem than what I have included here.   To read it in its entirety, click here: Poetry Foundation.