How very blue

My granddaughter reminded me, the other day, of this poem by Clive Barker:

Life is short
And pleasures few*
And holed the ship
And drowned the crew
But o! But o!
How very blue
the sea is.

A needed reminder in these troubling moments, to stop and look around, to celebrate the world we live in, even as it slowly cooks.

It's raining here again, and the sea and sky and distant mountains are back to their normal winter shades of grey, but there's blue sea on my hard drive.

Off Tyee Spit, last August.

Shades of blue, with multicoloured boxes. September, 2016.

I never know whether to shudder or laugh at this photo, a typical fall view of the Discovery Passage while the ocean rests between tide changes. It is a major shipping route, the most protected ("inside") way north, and barges pass by, loaded with consumer goods, several times daily. But the colours do jar.

* I don't quite agree with that "pleasures few" bit. Sea and sky and trees and lichen and birds and cats and ... and ... and. Not to forget fresh coffee and the first bite into an apple. Doesn't add up to "few".