Last patch of blue...for a while

the message of fred clifton

I rise up from the dead before you
a nimbus of dark light
to say that the only mercy
is memory,
to say that the only hell
is regret.

--Lucille Clifton.

This hilltop cemetery lies between my son's apartment and mine and is one of the few high points around here from which one can see both sky and the lay of the land. Today I took Seth to the airport. He and Cristina, Bella's mom, are both in the entertainment business, he as a sound man and she as a costumer. For the next couple of weeks he's off to Siberia and Cristina to the East Coast of the USA; they're both on tour in service of rock stars, and Bella will stay with her other grandparents in Arizona, a warm boisterous Spanish-speaking extended family that offers a whole village full of cousins, aunties, and many adoring caretakers.

When I saw that there was a patch of blue over the cemetery, I rushed to get this picture before the blue sky disappeared. This is the last we will see of sun and blue sky for a long time. A huge storm is headed right for us, lashing wind and rain for at least the next ten days, we are warned. Possible floods.

I'm doing some collaborative writing that matters very much to me, so I may be scarce on Blip for a while. I am very happy to see that One Street is off and flourishing. I hope it will continue to inspire us and that those who enjoy writing will take the opportunity to play with words as well as pictures, with gratitude to Ursula LeGuin for giving us the idea and the initial inspiration.