24th December 2021
Magnificent, December, when it has the mind.
Today breakfasted dreary, was downright soggy by coffee–
But unexpected into this grey afternoon,
(Low tide has lured me from indoor chores)
Comes Our Star.
At first theatrically portentous:
A blowtorch burst through overcast
Flame-spitting rainbow sundog sparks
High, low, and to either side.
Then, the sky cut open
Highlights every talling cloud edge
Across the West-to-North quarter;
While, full opposite its stare,
The Sun arches a spectrum
Over where Presceli under silver vapour sleeps,
And castles cumulus splendid –
Rare winter luck wn wind and sunlight flow as one.
Accordingly, under sudden Stellar command,
Sky nymphs soaring with full-force wings
Spread fast across Heaven
To busily brush from God-pigmented palettes
Eggshell here, Teal there, Cobalt of all tints,
Even acid Prussian edge-shades …
As this short day settles to its sleep,
Dulling the crag’s surround of silverdrench pasture,
How can the horizon’s flares of furnace colours
Further brighten those altituded blues?
© Christopher Jessop 2021
