Poetry in the Sky

I’ve been thinking about clouds a lot lately, and I don’t know why. For some reason, they keep drawing my eye, becoming my focus of late. Not that that they are shy about it, towering up there in the sky, huge and hovering over the islands as they are…they just demand my attention. And I've been giving it to them!

As a cruiser, where living aboard means that the weather dictates all, we’re always keeping one eye on conditions. Wind and waves are physical constants to contend with, but clouds...clouds are just more ephemeral and fleeting, the stuff of contemplation and serenity. Far enough away to be benign, yet here, out on the water, they seem much closer than they do back on land. They seem larger...or perhaps, I am just more attuned to them? (Really, how often do you notice clouds?) 

Literally, clouds are always with us. In my view, with their ever-changing, ever-momentary beauty, they are a bit of poetry over the sea. Whether lacy and fleecy, dank and threatening, or flowing and billowing, they are truly expressions of the atmosphere! And wherever we are -- out at sea on deck aboard Equinox, exploring the coast of some island in the dinghy, or gazing up from an secluded beach, clouds are my constant companion above. Clouds display the current mood of Mother Nature. I love watching them, and being aboard allows me time -- and space -- to do so!

So, I admire, I daydream, I gaze at them, and revel in them. We all do it; just the other evening Ally and I were marveling at the sunset clouds, with their vibrant colors and sun-lit facades, pointing out to one another what we could see in their shapes: animals or faces or other flights of fancy. It's a facet of cruising that is priceless, when something so ordinary as clouds are a daily source of awe. To be able to share this with my daughter and husband: precious indeed. Heading out in Eclipse to dive the other morning, we were offshore the west side of Antigua when we saw this amazing sight above us. All three of us were transfixed by the play of the early morning sunlight, so fresh, so full of power, so full of possibility...and so full of dreams. 

It was a moment not to be missed, and we shared it together. There's certainly nothing wrong with keeping your head in the clouds!