healingwords: poetry for the soul

After a day of storm that closed Alicante airport, blocked roads with snow, flooded rivers and caused enormous damage (the worse of all two tragic deaths), the village continued to feel its effects overnight. Lightening so bright it woke me with the light image flashed on closed eyes followed by crashing thunder and fierce, destructive rain. The house stayed mostly undamaged but the windows leaked from the wind lashing rain against them with drips running down the walls like tears.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

The patio can look a little sad in winter, the geraniums hibernate, the flowers wait for the warm and without the prompt of summer heat we can forget to water the pots. Slowly the bright green leaches from the leaves until a good watering from a few days rain and a burst of mid day sun is enough to bring life to the winter plants.  © 2019 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

A reminder that the sky is not always blue in the Mediterranean. This area is at high risk from extremes of weather. We can suffer long periods of drought with its consequent effects on the water supply for human use and agriculture. When it rains in Spring and Autumn it is often in the form of devastating storms that swoop up water from the sea and dump it over the land. This can be very damaging, flooding rivers and low land, stripping the hills of their top soil, damaging roads and infrastructure and in the worst cases taking lives. It is also very targeted, one village can have four days of heavy, insistent rain but little damage where 5 miles away another village can take the main hit and suffer extreme effects. These storms are known locally as 'Gota Fria' or the cold drop or now by the letters 'DANA' which in Spanish stand for upper level isolated depression.  So far my village has escaped the damage of the coastal towns of Denia and Xabia. I slept little ...

If you raise your eyes from street level you can spot the rusting faces adorning drain pipes on old houses in the village. No one I have asked has an explanation for them, other than as decoration but in this land blighted by drought and flooding rain, I like to think she is offering up a prayer for gentle rain. Not rain that washes away roads and strips the hills of topsoil, flooding the plains and coastal towns but rain to nurture the earth, fill the underground rivers, to gush out of the ground in natural springs.  © 2019 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

On a dull day with the valley covered in cloud these tiny bursts of flower lit the bushes with colour. They reminded me of the sweets I loved as a small child, playing with the shapes and colours, organising them in my hand.  I am glad of gentle rain, the trees are suffering after a long, dry year and the air needs washing clean of wind borne pollens.  © 2019 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

This is the view from the El Carrascal hillside, looking over the valley towards the Mediterranean Sea. The sun warmed the damp earth after the nights cleansing rains. The air smelt of pine and vibrated with birdsong.  AFTER THE RAIN   In Southern country, where arid desert creeps, rains fall brings shock of raging storm violence. Woken by light strobing hills, thunder’s drum crashing, rolling round 'Pop' valley like Fiesta’s fireworks flare. Rain comes, sudden, urgent drumming, drilling on tiles bouncing off terracotta, storming from gutter to street. Rush to batten down old shutters, pitch pine split from harsh sun, wind thrashing, driving lashing rain, spilling onto cold floors. Wired night of fitful sleep, broken in anxious unease, drifting between squalls until dawn breaks through breathing cloud. New day, blessed with warming light, tarmac sparkles on washed streets, refreshed earth drinks in liquid life, ...