Hot Flash Friday: Pictures of Chicago
 |
| Escaping the heat in the 2800 block of W. Augusta, 1988. Photo by Michael Fryer (Vintage Tribune Chicago, IL) |
Here is another Facebook group I’ve discovered. Simply Pictures of
Chicago—such as over the weekend, tone of pics of the electrical storm
Saturday and Sunday evening. A lot of sunset shots. Just everyday stuff. Crowds
at the beach. Michigan Avenue. A hot dog stand. This is the ESSENCE of flash.
An Instagram moment that is here now and a minute late gone. And, if you, me,
we don’t grab it then it will forever be a regret. Because the light changes,
the clouds, move, or something else comes along and that moment is lost.
That’s why I’ve been enjoying Stephen Spender’s poetry. This
one from, Collected Poems 1928 – 1985,
Stephen Spender
Above the whispering sea
And waiting rocks of black
coast,
Across the bay, the serchlight
beams
Swing and swing back across the
sky.
Their ends fuse in a cone of
light
Held for a bright instant up
Until they break away again
Smashing that image like a cup
Triangles, parallels,
parallelograms
Experiment with hypotheses
On the blackboard sky,
Seeking that X
Where the enemy is met.
Two beams cross
To chalk his cross
A buzz felt as
ragged but unseen
Is chased by two
Excaliburs of light
A thud. An instant
gleams
Gold sequins shaken
from a black-silk screen.
Round the coast, the
waves
Chuckle between rocks.
In the fields, the
corn
Rustles with metallic
clicks.
Here is another, Thoughts During an Air Raid
Tells us what it is like to live through a troubled
Unstable time. When the world seems about to shake itself
To death.
Right Now Write: what it feels like to be you, in this moment, this turbulent time.Be brave.
Comments