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| Under a Tuscan Sky |
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| Photos on this page are courtesy of: Robert Crum Bev & Richard Martin Giampaolo Macorig Dale M. Allegra Ricci Robert Voors Fabbio Venni Herr Hartmann Urtica Augschburger |
| Near dawn, between the birth and death of designated times, There is a moment God claims as His alone... To prepare a gift of His design. When He is done, He bids the Sun to burn the night away And all around the words rebound: I give you now this day! -- Jim Metcalf, "Follow Another Star" |
| There was a rainbow in the sky early this morning, Clearly visible from one end to the other. I saw it from my porch, as I went out to pick up the paper. But if it had not been pointed out to me, I probably would never even have noticed... For I would not have been looking at the sky, But downward at the paper, Intent on finding out who'd been killed Or accused of something... Or what train derailed or whether the golf tournament would be on TV. Suddenly it occurred to me that we don't look skyward much anymore... Unless the weather is noisy or there's a jet plane screaming by. We are in a sort of look around and down, but not up, syndrome. I remembered how sky-watching was once a way of life On warm, summer nights, Before there was TV or air conditioning... And people used to sit outside and talk... When families still had a lot to talk about and share, The faces would inevitably turn upward toward the sky To see the stars and the moon. |
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| We'd talk about the Milky Way and how many light years away it was... And how small man was in comparison to the Universe, But all that got lost somewhere and it's hard now To even find a place to watch the stars... The street lights get in your eyes... And the buildings in your way... And sometimes the smog covers them. And now that man has touched the moon, Somehow it doesn't seem quite as magic As it did when it was unattainable... It was different in the hush of quiet summer evenings, With the sound of familiar voices speaking softly... The foreverness of the sky was all around In the face of beauty seen through The fragile veil of childhood And magnificent innocence. -- Jim Metcalf, "Follow Another Star" |
| We choose the moments and the days We would like to live again... Forgetting those less pleasant ones That came before and after. And these hand-picked yesterdays Of our lives That we recall so fondly now, Are made to seem more precious By the interval that lies between... Sweeter than they were When they were today. -- Jim Metcalf, "Please to Begin" |
| The link to this page is: http://www.thepastwhispers.com/Tuscan_Sky.html Music: Theme from "Titanic" Friday's Journal The Past Whispers - Home Old New Orleans |
| Across the way, beyond the trees, the light surrenders to the darkness. And quietly, another day is taken From my allotted number. Yet, the loss is made to seem no loss at all by the beauty that surrounds its dying. Wrapped in hues of promise, Pledges made in colors of tomorrows, Clean, untouched... As good or bad as I will have them be. So I will not mourn this day that dies at eventide. I will let it take its place With my other yesterdays. And I will wait the darkness through, And then, I will meet tomorrow. -- Jim Metcalf, "Please to Begin" |
| Jim Metcalf was a gifted poet who inspired hope in the hearts of his readers. He was the writer, producer and host of "A Sunday Journal" on WWL-TV in New Orleans, earning him a distinguished Peabody Award for broadcasting. It has been said that he was an uncommon man. And he was. A list of Jim Metcalf's 4 books of poetry can be found at Pelican Publishing Company. |
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