TOM CLARK: Sad birds from the middle of the war | Joseph Ceravolo: Dusk ("Before the dusk grows deeper...")

As if the resurrection is in the eastern Gouta What then!! #smoke #destruction #blood #martyrs Photo @mouneb_abo_taim: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim, 11 February 2018

He heard that the truce of the international consensus provides for the restraining order [to stay] the Russian occupation and the killing of more civilians, [so] went out looking for his children in the morning and was hit by shrapnel from the rockets that rained on his city all day #SaveGhouta: image via Amer almohibany @amer_almohibany, 26 February 2018

[EasternGhouta]: image via Mahmoud Zahra @abu_huzaifa_zah, 20 February 2018

Air strike in Eastern Ghouta Photo @Ammarsulaiman91 @AFP: image via Aurelia BAILLY @AureliaBAILLY, 26 February 2018

Air strike in Eastern Ghouta Photo @Ammarsulaiman91 @AFP: image via Aurelia BAILLY @AureliaBAILLY, 26 February 2018

Truce call ignored as deadly strikes hit Syria enclave: AFP News, 26 February 2018

A picture taken on February 25, 2018, shows a Syrian man walking next to damaged buildings following regime air strikes in the Syrian rebel-held town of Douma, in the besieged Eastern Ghouta: photo by Hamza Al-Ajweh / AFP, 25 February 2018

Fresh Syrian regime air strikes on rebel-held Eastern Ghouta killed 10 civilians Monday as Western powers piled pressure on Russia to make a UN truce deal come into force.

The world body's chief demanded the immediate implementation of a resolution calling for a 30-day truce, as another suspected chemical attack left a child dead in the enclave.

"Eastern Ghouta cannot wait. It is high time to stop this hell on earth," Antonio Guterres told the opening of the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Saturday's UN Security Council resolution had raised hopes that a week-old assault by Russian-backed regime forces that has killed more than 500 civilians might end.

But while the intensity of the bombardment eased a little over the weekend, warplanes have continued their raids and rockets were still being launched at Eastern Ghouta.

Among the latest victims were nine family members killed when their home in Douma, the main town in the enclave, collapsed on their heads.

"Nine civilians from a same family were killed in regime air strikes in Douma, after midnight," Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring organisation, said.

Trapped in rubble

"Some of the bodies are still stuck in the rubble," he said.

Ten-year-old Omar who was injured in an air strike that killed several members of his family was treated at a make-shift hospital in Syria's rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta: photo by Amer Almohibany / AFP, 26 February 2018

An AFP correspondent in Douma said the bombardment had been very heavy overnight and impeded rescuers in their work.

The regime intensified its air campaign against Eastern Ghouta, which has been outside government control since 2012, at the beginning of the month.

On February 18, the Syrian government further turned up the heat on the territory controlled by Islamist and jihadist groups.

More than 550 civilians, almost a quarter of them children, have since been killed and extensive destruction wrought on the enclave's towns.

The hospitals and clinics that were not destroyed by strikes struggled to process the more than 2,000 people wounded over the same period.

Residents trapped in the wreckage of their own homes have bled to death as rescuers were targeted even as they tried to save lives.

Much of the nearly 400,000-strong population of Eastern Ghouta has moved underground, with families pitching tents in basements and venturing out only to assess damage to their property and buy food.

Pressure on Putin

On Sunday, a child died and 13 others suffered breathing difficulties and showed symptoms consistent with a chlorine attack after a regime air raid struck the town of Al-Shifuniyah, the Observatory and a medic said.

Russia dismissed reports of a chemical attack as "bogus stories".

The UN Security Council voted unanimously to demand a 30-day ceasefire in Syria: photo by Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP, 26 February 2018

The epic destruction, which has spared none of the towns scattered across the semi-rural area on the outskirts of Damascus, has caused widespread outrage.

The world has remained largely powerless however to stop one of the bloodiest episodes in Syria's seven-year civil conflict.

France and Germany have been at the forefront of Western efforts to clinch a ceasefire but the resolution voted on Saturday has remained a dead letter.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are now seeking to convince Russia to use its influence on Damascus to ensure the truce if enforced.

They stressed in a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin "that it is crucial that the (UN) resolution be implemented quickly and comprehensively."

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will also go to Moscow on Tuesday.

The regime has reinforced its deployment around the enclave over the past month, raising fears of a ground offensive that aid groups warned could cause even worse suffering.

Other flashpoints

With the Islamic State group's once sprawling "caliphate" now wiped off the map, the regime looks bent on completing its reconquest and Eastern Ghouta is a key target.

The jihadists only control an estimated three percent of Syria territory, small pockets which various anti-IS forces continue to flush out.

Air strikes and heavy clashes shook Eastern Ghouta despite the UN call for a truce: photo by Amer Almohibany / AFP, 26 February 2018

The Observatory reported that at least 25 civilians were killed in a wave of air strikes on one of the very last pockets of holdout IS fighters in eastern Syria on Sunday.

It said the strikes were carried out by the US-led coalition but a US military spokesman said "there were no reported coalition strikes conducted in Syria" that day.

Another flashpoint in Syria has been the northern region of Afrin, where Kurdish forces have come under attack from neighbouring Turkey since January 20.

Turkey has warned it did not consider that the UN ceasefire resolution, which is not limited to Eastern Ghouta but whose wording excludes operations against terror groups, should affect its offensive on Afrin.

Macron on Monday called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who considers the Syrian Kurdish militia to be "terrorist", to stress that the truce should be implemented there too.

#Syria Truce call ignored as deadly strikes hit Syria enclave #AFP Photo @abdfree2: image via Aurelia BAILLY @AureliaBAILLY, 26 February 2018

#Syria Strikes, clashes hit Syria's Ghouta despite ceasefire call #Afrique Photo @hamza_alajweh: image via AFP Photo @AFPphoto 25 February 2018

#Syria El régimen sirio bombardea la Guta Oriental a pesar de la resolución de la ONU #AFP: image via Agence France-Presses @AFPespanol, 25 February 2018

Here is Ghouta where there is no place to live One of the people lost his family in the eastern Ghouta #Eastern_Ghouta @mouneb_abo_taim: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim, 25 February 2018

Here is Ghouta where there is no place to live #Eastern_Ghouta @mouneb_abo_taim: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim, 25 February 2018

#Eastern_Ghouta #saveghouta: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim, 20 February 2018

Ghouta wounded today: image via Mohammed Eyad @MohammedEyad2, 5 February 2017

What remains of his house Everything became rubble and destruction Nothing left of his house @mouneb_abo_taim: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim, 10 February 2018

Fire everywhere did not keep humans nor stone #Syria #Eastern_Ghouta: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim, 10 February 2018

#Eastern_Ghouta: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim, 21 February 2018

The city of #Douma suburb of Damascus one day #Devastation #Bombing #Blood #Dead #Douma: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim2, 25 January 2018

Where the children stand after their house is destroyed standing in the street after their house became destroyed: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim2, 21 January 2018

Flyer on [his] way to kill lives of unarmed civilians #War #destruction #Children #Gouta Photo @mouneb_abo_taim: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim2, 25 January 2018

Panoramic photo Mobile phone #Gouta #photo #Douma #mobile Photo @mouneb_abo_taim2: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim2, 10 January 2018

My city is Douma with the absence of its beautiful day .. #Clouds #winter #cold #houses #image Photo @mouneb_abo_taim2: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim2, 18 January 2018

From Al-Ghouta in these moments where the mechanism of death and neck does not stop by the tyrant Assad #Gouta: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim2, 17 January 2018

From Al-Ghouta in these moments where the mechanism of death and neck does not stop by the tyrant Assad #Gouta: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim2, 17 January 2018

#Birds #Morning #Day _New ##War #Smoke #image Photo @mouneb_abo_taim2: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim2, 17 January 2018

Sad birds from the middle of the war Photo @mouneb_abo_taim2: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim2, 17 January 2018

It is the sad Gouta and through which the most difficult days in this war #Ghouta ©Getty_images Photo @mouneb_abo_taim2: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim2, 18 January 2018

It is the sad Gouta and through which the most difficult days in this war #Ghouta #Damascus ©Getty_images Photo @mouneb_abo_taim2: image via mouneb abo taim @mouneb_abo_taim2, 16 January 2018

A picture taken from a #Syrian rebel-controlled area in the eastern #Ghouta region shows bullets fired from the capital #Damascus piercing the sky during New Year's eve celebrations. On January 1,2017 Last year Photo by: Mohammed Eyad / @anadoluimages: image via Mohammed Eyad @MohammedEyad2, 5 February 2017

Some images from #EasternGhouta, Sunday 25 February, where the first day of the UN "ceasefire" brought death to 30 civilians, as the besieged enclave was relentlessly bombed by pro-government forces.: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 25 February 2018

A baby boy was killed in the attack on al-Shaifuniya. He was pulled from beneath the debris smelling strongly of chlorine. It is not clear the direct cause of his death.#EasternGhouta: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 25 February 2018

A baby boy was killed in the attack on al-Shaifuniya. He was pulled from beneath the debris smelling strongly of chlorine. It is not clear the direct cause of his death. #EasternGhouta: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 25 February 2018

A chlorine like smell was pervasive in the area, reported by people nearby, rescuers, and victims. Two of those injured were members of the Syrian Civil Defense @SCDrifdimashq. #al-Shaifuniya #EasternGhouta: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 25 February 2018

18 people were treated for symptoms of exposure to the chemical, which included respiratory distress, irritated eyes, and bluish lips.#al-Shaifuniya #EasternGhouta: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 25 February 2018

18 people were treated for symptoms of exposure to the chemical, which included respiratory distress, irritated eyes, and bluish lips. #al-Shaifuniya #EasternGhouta: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 25 February 2018

New chemical attack in #EasternGhouta. Earlier this evening government forces fired missiles loaded with a toxic gas believed to be chlorine at the small town of #al-Shaifuniya, to the southwest of Douma city.: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 25 February 2018

Image of efforts to put out fires from the new napalm attacks on Harasta launched this morning - Sunday, 25 February 2018. #EasternGhouta: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 25 February 2018

The ruins of #Douma ... Images from new overnight attacks, as the destruction of #EasternGhouta continues.: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 24 February 2018

The ruins of #KafrBatna ... As the destruction of #EasternGhouta continues: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 24 February 2018

Incendiary phosphorus munitions raining down tonight on Arbin in besieged #EasternGhouta: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 24 February 2018

Incendiary phosphorus munitions raining down tonight on Arbin in besieged #EasternGhouta: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 23 February 2018

Dramatic images of the cultural center in #Douma, which was bombed with what is believed to be napalm today. #EasternGhouta: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 23 February 2018

Eastern Ghouta is literally on fire. Heavy artillery fire w/ incendiary munitions (believed to contain napalm) is hitting communities in #EasternGhouta tonight. The bombardments have started hundreds of fires that the SCD first responders are unable to put out.: image via Siege Watch @SiegeWatch, 22 February 2018

Joseph Ceravolo: Dusk ("Before the dusk grows deeper...")

Jersey Tiger Moth (Euplagia quadripunctaria): photo by 2+2=4. Probably, 2009

Before the dusk grows deeper
Now comes a little moth dressed in

rose pink, wings bordered with yellow. Now

a tiger moth, now..another..and another...another

Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobeae), Adult showing hindwings, the Netherlands: photo by JMuiden, 2006

Tiger Moth (Callimorpha dominula), Belgian High Ardennes: photo by James K. Lindsey, 2004

Scarlet Tiger Moth (Callimorpha dominula), Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland: photo by Jeffdelonge, 2005

Joseph Ceravolo (1934-1988): Dusk, from Spring in This World of Poor Mutts, 1968

cf John Keats. The Eve of St. Agnes. XXIV. A casement high and triple-arch'd there was, All garlanded with carven imag'ries. Of fruits, and flowers, and bunches of knot-grass, And diamonded with panes of quaint device, Innumerable of stains and splendid dyes, As are the tiger-moth's deep-damask'd wings