30 Poems in 30 Days: Fundraiser for the Ithaca Sanctuary Alliance

  DAY 25                                            How to Paint a Cloud         Fran Markover                                You'll need satin finish, sea sponges, cloud-wash   If there's none of the above, watch a damselfly skim sun-petalled ponds                                Consider pitch, speed, the weight of snow on a branch                                Brush-in-hand, memorize dogwood and a weeping birch                                Think cotton candy at the fair, the sheep counted on before sleep                                If sad, meditate by mountains; when happy, wear pearls                                Invoke any nymph who dances behind the curtains of rain                                Accept any invitation: marriage of ink and water, silent retreats   Introduce yourself to Mother cloud, compliment her soft gray curls   Take time to know each cloud family, their personalities, the paths they bank on   Learn who's veiled, coiffed in feathers, who seem