Cloudwatching
Similoluwa Osunsanmi
One of the things you do as a child is cloud watching, if your imagination is wild.
Up in the sky, you see the strangest of things like the shape of an elephant or a crocodile…with wings.
My dear mother once said “The sky’s like a stage! So shiny and blue! The clouds are its actors, I can watch them with you. Up in the clouds… what do you see?”
I replied, “I see a mother duck looking at me! She’s in the water, I see her glide, with her ducklings beside her trying to hide! What are they hiding from, mother, tell me!”
“They’re hiding from a crocodile, look, can you see? They’re scared of the crocodile’s chomping jaws, they’re scared they’ll be dragged away by his sharp claws…but look!”
“Mother! There’s a fairy coming to save the day! I hope she can make the croc go away!
“I’m sure she will, darling, I’m sure she will! We can watch what happens. Now, isn’t that a thrill!”
“Mummy, what happened, I cannot tell! The clouds have gone dark, has she cast a spell?”
“I think she has…and she sure made it snappy! The crocodile is gone and the ducks are all happy!”
“Thank goodness, dear mother, thank goodness he’s gone!
“Here’s a new story… I spy a swan, she is so elegant, head held high with pride. Along the big blue sky, she so gracefully glides. There’s an old man, jolly and kind. What’s he digging in his pockets to find?”
“He’s giving the swan big chunks of bread, as the swan does look like she has hardly been fed. Mother, what’s happening now? The sky is still blue, but not a single cloud!”
My mother stood up “I think that’s enough. The clouds are too tired, and they cannot play. That’s the end of the story, let’s call it a day.”
So, on a warm sunny day, just go out to play, and take a good look at the sky. Why not lie on the lawn, if it’s lovely and warm, you may see some shapes passing by.
Most imaginative of people can see things like this, go on, give the sky a stare! Once you have seen it, it’s too hard to miss. So tell me, what is up there?