I told them not to venture far, they could see

the sky weighed down, the threat of rain.

Full blown storm clouds sweep in

as I dapple a full brush across the sky.

I watch the women from the stone veranda

as they stroll through damp grasses, place

them in the quiet space in a picture

full of movement, a focal point

in this impression of a storm breaking.

They move through the foreground

lead the eye to the centre, follow

old cart tracks to a path downhill

shelter under velvety figs circling the bay.

I lay down misty islands on a sea of white

add a steamer heading back to port

–the harbour already washed

with greys on this monochrome day.

- after Sydney Harbour, July 1888, Charles Edward Conder

© Brenda Saunders