June 21, 2011

A summer thunderstorm

A moment the wild swallows like a flight
Of withered gust-caught leaves, serenely high,


Toss in the windrack up the muttering sky.
The leaves hang still. Above the weird twilight,


The hurrying centres of the storm unite
And spreading with huge trunk and rolling fringe,
Each wheeled upon its own tremendous hinge, 
Tower darkening on. And now from heaven's height,


With the long roar of elm-trees swept and swayed,
And pelted waters, on the vanished plain
Plunges the blast. Behind the wild white flash


That splits abroad the pealing thunder-crash,
Over bleared fields and gardens disarrayed,
Column on column comes the drenching rain.

~Archibald Lampman

12 comments:

  1. My goodness, such an appropriate poem for this stormy morn. And so wonderfully penned to start the day. You really illustrated the poem well with your lovely photos. I read a post on GGW where Saxon Holt said, "Think like a camera. Crop out all that does not contribute to what you are trying to say and fill the frame with your message." Now I keep looking for messages in my work. It is hard to think that much when snapping a photo, but makes all the difference in the world. I followed the poem along with your specially selected images. You did a really good job illustrating the message in the poem.

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  2. What a lovely respite of poetry and photographs! I had a great time wandering through your stormy path.

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  3. What a beautiful post, Beth! We just had an amazing thunder, lightning and rainstorm here last night; the first in many months and when I read your post this morning, it was so fitting and appropriate to my world at this moment in time. Thank you :)

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  4. A beautiful poem. Thanks for sharing it!

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  5. The photography teacher always say shoot something which tells a story. That is difficult for me because i just shoot that which i think or maybe feel looks beautiful. Nice photos for the poem.

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  6. How refreshing - love the light contrasts

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  7. Beth, Your poetry and photos were nice. I might try that in a future posting. Good idea and good thoughts. My posting yesterday was of the storm that went through. Don't know if that was the same storm for you. My photos are of the sunset that night, really dramatic. So there is beauty even in the storms. We can both testify to that. Jack

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  8. @Donna: Yes, it was a doozy! We had the storms in the evening, and they must have hit you in the morning. I did crop the photos quite a bit because the foliage seemed to really pop with new rain. Thank you for your kind comment.

    @Sage: Thank you. It was one of those wonderful summer thunderstorms that was scary, but when it passed everything smelled fresh and clean.

    @Diane: Thanks! When we need rain, there's nothing like a powerful, drenching thunderstorm, right? The nitrogen from the lightening helps the plants, too. I felt so thankful walking out just after the storm and smelling the sweet scent of rain.

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  9. @Sheila: Thank you. The Lampman poem just seemed to fit my mood so well after the storm. I'd been thinking about doing a Wordless Wednesday, but the storm needed a poet's words. :)

    @Andrea: It was partly planned, partly simple luck, partly a little effort in cropping the photos. Thanks for your kind comments.

    @Laura: Thanks! It was a wonderful, cleansing thunderstorm and the Lampman poem seemed to fit the moment.

    @Jack: Yes, I imagine it was the same storm. I agree, the sunset was amazing. I just barely caught it in one of my shots, and then I ran outside after the storm and snapped the plant photos. I'll head on over and check out your post. Cheers!

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  10. I LOVE thunderstorms!!! The poem and photos are such a great compliment to each other. Great post!

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  11. Beautiful combination of poetry and photos! We've had a lot of stormy weather the past month. I'm happy for the rain, but always worry when I see storm warnings in the forecast.

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  12. @TS: Thanks! I love thunderstorms, too. Especially when they're mainly beneficial and don't cause much damage.

    @Rose: Thank you. I have some of the same feelings. Tornado watches and warnings are always worrying.

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