Photography © 2015 by Farnaz Mojab Soheili
A Lesson
For just one moment
the sky stopped time,
and we gazed upward
to where an angel
lit the clouds
like a row of pure white candles,
and the flames flickered
in many hues
and spoke to us in sweet silence,
reminding us that life is brief,
a momentary blur.A lesson we forgot.
Note: My thanks go to my friend, Farnaz Mojab Soheili, for allowing me to use her wonderful photograph of this magnificent cloud rainbow that appeared for just a moment. As a teacher who was with a group of fourth grade students on the playground, the cloud phenomenon was pointed out to her by a student. She looked up in time to see it shift into this beautiful formation. A rainbow in the clouds is called iridescence or irisation: “When parts of clouds are thin and have similar size droplets, diffraction can make them shine with colours like a corona. In fact, the colours are essentially corona fragments. The effect is called cloud iridescence or irisation, terms derived from Iris the Greek personification of the rainbow…. Iridescence is seen mostly when part of a cloud is forming because then all the droplets have a similar history and consequently have a similar size.”
[http://www.atoptics.co.uk/droplets/irid1.htm]
A Poet in Time 
beautiful – all of it.
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Thank you!! 💕
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My thanks. 🙂
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Where an angel/ lit the clouds/ like a row of pure white candles. Wow. Lovely. The photo and the poem are perfect together. Thank you for sharing this very beautiful work, Mary!
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My dear Robin, thanks so much. 💕
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Absolutely beautiful. I’ve never seen that type of rainbow before. I’m not surprised a child saw it first. The world is newer to them and they observe more. Thank you for explaining the picture. I loved the poem you wrote to accompany it. It was equally lovely.
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Thank you so much, Suzanne. 😊
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Beautiful thought and so gracefully articulated. Thank you for explaining the photo as well-leave to a child to
Note something beautiful. “To see the world in a grain of sand…and eternity in an hour”
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Exactly. That child already has the curiosity and vigilance it takes to be an artist, a scientist, explorer or visionary. Thanks for your good words.
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Capturing a moment of perfection perfectly, you are once again to be congratulated on your exquisite words Mary.
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And you, my dear Hariod, are so generous with your words. My thanks. I hope all is well with you. 😊
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Love both the photos, and the poem is very touching. Lovely! Thank you. 🙂
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Thanks so much, dear Janet.
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