Thursday, 14 July 2011

Effaced


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A road in Villa La Angostura, southern Argentina, is blanketed with sand and volcanic ash from the eruption of the Chilean Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano, 17 June 2011: photo by Federico Grosso/Associated Press





As the world turns and is obscured
by a soft grey brown covering
as though seen through oatmeal
porous confusing and confused
After every little stroke more
difficult to make out the signs
each time the hope growing stronger
when the eyes open again
it won't be there any more
save in the memory of all its glory







A cloud of ash from the eruption of the Chilean Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano, seen near sunset at the mountain resort San Martin de Los Andes in Argentinian Patagonia, 12 June 2011: photo by Patricio Rodriguez/Reuters
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10 comments:

  1. STEPHEN RATCLIFFE14 July 2011 at 07:01

    Tom,

    Thanks for such "earth watch" (hadn't heard about this event, and --

    "when the eyes open again
    it won't be there any more
    save in the memory. . ."

    7.14

    pink edge of cloud in sky above shadowed
    ridge, blue jay landing on redwood fence
    in foreground, waves sounding in channel

    has sunk away, such that to
    one who has forgotten

    as possible distance, since
    the event, eventually

    grey white fog against invisible ridge,
    whiteness of gull disappearing into it

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  2. TC14 July 2011 at 07:16

    Steve,

    We were concerned because our friend
    Lucy in the Sky lives nearby.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous14 July 2011 at 08:10

    Thank you, Tom. It has been a difficult time indeed, especially for the beings living near Villa La Angostura and Bariloche. While some people have lost it all and many animals have starved, here it has been a little bit more than a nuisance, especially for the lungs. But it is Mother Nature claiming her rights to rule over the earth, the same rights She has had since time immemorial, even before us humans dared to appear on the face of the earth.

    The second picture portrays a scene that lies very near my home. It is so sad to see it all in grey...

    ReplyDelete
  4. TC15 July 2011 at 04:43

    Lucy,

    You've been correct about Mother Nature all along -- that was my thought in viewing and reading your post.

    But once She washes all that ash away (if She hasn't done so already)... hopefully your home will return to that near-pristine state which the great majority of us, in these infernal polluted cities, can only imagine.

    (And envy!)

    ReplyDelete
  5. STEPHEN RATCLIFFE15 July 2011 at 06:43

    Tom,

    Thanks for that note and link to Lucy's world, which now needs a good wash from those cold and clear heavens (which may still be up there, somewhere). . .

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous15 July 2011 at 08:58

    Mother Nature is certainly washing and blowing the ash away, little by little. I miss the colors of my paradise, but I know they are there somewhere.

    Thank you Tom and Stephen =)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sandra15 July 2011 at 10:03

    amazing pic Tom and beautiful words...we got the ashes twenty days after the eruption ...and I could see it from the far in Valdivia

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous16 July 2011 at 04:23

    Reading your poem, which describes so well sights I've never seen (the crisis scenes shown in the photos), and then reading the correspondence between still-connected friends in faraway places is remarkable. The contrast between this and the petty skirmishing I see every day is both uplifting and dispiriting. It's early Saturday morning and the dogs are barking for something, so I'm going to "choose uplifting".

    ReplyDelete
  9. TC16 July 2011 at 05:57

    It's early Saturday morning here and low visibility -- fog shrouding everything...

    ReplyDelete
  10. STEPHEN RATCLIFFE16 July 2011 at 06:34

    Tom,

    "shrouding" is the operative word, into which "everything has apparently disappeared. . . .

    ReplyDelete