Clouds on July 1st

A writing scavenger hunt and a poem on interesting clouds

This July, a poet friend has challenged her writing community to a scavenger hunt consisting of several prompts a week. The call is simple: “pay attention, be astonished, tell about it.”¹

I wasn’t necessarily planning on writing a poem today (despite being a huge fan of this initiative), but I noticed the clouds while on an evening drive and remembered one of the prompts––interesting clouds. So, here is my attempt at following Mary Oliver’s instructions for living a life: pay attention, be astonished, tell about it.

P.S. One thing I love + enjoy about poetry is the ability to imagine things otherwise unknown to our limited minds. Writing grants us the gift of exploring ideas and truths about life and God that we might not fully comprehend on this side of heaven. This is often hard for me to do, because I like things in a box––neat and easy––but, in the real world, that’s rarely the case. At the end of the day, I truly believe poetry is an exercise in faith.

And with that, happy reading!

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Source Pinterest

Clouds on July 1st

I am convinced the firmament 
was painted over in pastels 
after God said, “Let there be an expanse.” 
Perhaps then, he sent angels in 
with brushes for wings
to fly between layers of sky, 
with swift, gentle strokes,
and add bundles of clouds for our enjoyment.
Perhaps in the morning hours 
these artists still hover 
over the heavens and ponder 
which shapes to trace. 
I think today they chose waves,
for across the indigo canvas, in off-white paint, 
every wispy cloud seemed to thin out 
like water when it stretches to reach the shore.
Perhaps they wanted to give God
an ocean to rest by
on this first day of July. 

 - r.e.g.

1. Mary Oliver (https://www.dailygood.org/story/2208/mary-oliver-instructions-for-living-a-life-on-being/

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