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Not a seascape



The morning after the storm. Click here for high-resolution version.

If I were a poet, I’d try to write a poem that captures how forests and the sea are so much alike. Both are dark and deep and full of creatures. Both can be quiet and peaceful, but both are violent and dangerous in a storm. In a storm, they even make the same sound. The sea has its gulls. The woods have their crows. It’s funny how they sound so much alike. I would love to live on a high, heather-and-grass promontory above the sea. But, since I can’t, the woods are the next best thing.

Last night, starting before dusk, there was a tornado warning as a long train of violent storms passed through. Here at the abbey, as I sat by the upstairs windows and periodically checked the weather radar, the worst of the storms just missed us. Lily sat with me and watched the storms unless the thunder got too loud, then she would go hide. A tornado actually touched down about 12 miles to the east. Sometimes the window had to be closed because of the rain. But, during lulls in the rain, both Lily and I are greatly entertained by the wind and wild sea-sounds through the open window.

In the wind of a storm, the trees around the house billow and toss like the sea against rocks, with all the right sound effects. When there is lightning, I count off seconds to measure how close it is. A huge bolt of lightning hit the ridge just after dark, and a clap of thunder sent Lily scurrying before I could say “one.” I could almost imagine that I’m in a lighthouse on a tiny island, just above a roiling green sea.

3 Comments

  1. Henry Sandigo wrote:
    Sunday, May 8, 2022 at 12:02 pm | Permalink
  2. Malinda wrote:

    Hi David: I hope you don’t mind, but the poetically styled descriptions of your storm experience and the thematic note on the kinship nature of the twin sounds sparked me to write a poem on that sensation you suggested. Thanks for the spark, and like I said, hope you don’t mind, M

    Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 3:16 pm | Permalink
  3. daltoni wrote:

    Hi Malinda: Of course I don’t mind! And I hope we get to see the poem…

    Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 3:27 pm | Permalink

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