Never a rarer thing seen in British skies
Across the twilight canopy, mother of pearl
Cloud covering, when the temperature is right
Reflecting sunlight off tiny crystals of ice
Enough to make you pause to reflect
Our place in everything, all we can be
Up above our heads, for just a few hours
Shimmering colours brighter than the stars
*
Thank you for reading my poem!
This is another entry into the Uncommon Challenge inspired by a strange phenomenon in the sky that many were treated to here in Scotland. I was not one of those who got to see it, but on Sunday evening (Jan 29th) and Monday morning (Jan 30th) many sky gazers were treated to a rare treat of nacreous clouds in the sky. You can take a look at some of the shots people took here.
About Nacreous Clouds
For anyone that does not know or is interested, nacreous clouds are clouds that are normally higher in the sky than many of the other types and only form in very cold temperatures.
Thanks to the shimmering colours of the sunlight reflecting against the ice particles in the clouds they are beautiful and vivid colours, which is why many refer to them as "mother-of-pearl" clouds.
The Right Temperature
Nacreous clouds are only visible in the polar regions and at around 12 to 19 miles high. Which is higher than most clouds we are all used to seeing.
The UK generally does not usually have the required conditions.
However, cold polar air occasionally, when it's caught in strong winds that flow high in Earth's atmosphere, referred to as the polar vortex, weakens and then colder air can drop southwards towards our latitude.
The air has to be -80C which shows you just how rare they can be in Scotland.
But around Moray, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands, people experienced this awe-inspiring visual treat.
Inspiration
I'm learning to take inspiration when I find it and run with it. This is why I came up with this acrostic for the Uncommon Challenge here on Vocal. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please click the heart, leave a comment or both. All support and feedback is appreciated.
You may also like these other entries to the Uncommon Challenge:
You can also check out the rest of my work here.
About the Creator
Paul Stewart
Scottish-Italian poet/writer from Glasgow.
Overflowing in English language torture and word abuse.
"Every man has a sane spot somewhere" R.L Stevenson
The Accidental Poet - Poetry Collection is now available!
https://paulspoeticprints.etsy.com
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More stories from Paul Stewart and writers in Poets and other communities.
The Crumbling Walls
*Contains Spice She knew kissing him was wrong. Every stolen moment chipped against the wall of alliances that Mother created to protect their land. The parentage of their daughter was more than enough to destroy the wall completely and unleash the full might of the Uhitaji clan. But as he pressed her against a small corner wall on the battlements, none of that mattered. His hand slid down her wide hip as their lips danced in unity. She wrapped her leg around his waist pulling him even closer. Their shared heat burned the world around them to nothing. There was nothing else, nothing left but them.
By Omari Richards6 days ago in Fiction
Comments (4)
Beautiful pic, beautiful words.
Truly beautiful poem and subject! This line was lovely to me, "Across the twilight canopy, mother of pearl". I super enjoyed reading about these fabulous clouds! Man, I wish I could see them now. 😍
Great imagery and information Paul. Good entry 🥰
This had such lovely imagery! And I loved these lines, 'Enough to make you pause to reflect, Our place in everything, all we can be' Just beautiful :) And I appreciated the notes at the end. I had considered writing about this as well as it sounded like an amazing thing to see. Wonderful work!