Above:  Sunset, June 16, 2018

Photographer = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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I just saw a most

beautiful sunset behind

old, tall, verdant trees.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 16, 2018 COMMON ERA

 

Above:  The Original Text

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AUTHOR’S COMMENT:

I looked up at the sky tonight and thought of “islands of night sky.”  So I wrote the prompt down and let it develop into a concise form.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 11, 2013 COMMON ERA

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Islands of night sky

populate the ocean of clouds

above my head

on a cold night.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 11, 2013 COMMON ERA

Above:  Chalfont Drive, Athens, Georgia, December 8, 2013

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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On a cold, wet, and gray day,

after having attended church and

consumed the body and blood of Christ,

there did commence, I am glad to say,

a quiet, studious time, one easy to stand,

but indoors, which, I do surmise,

+++++

was proper, given the weather.

It was a time to study and to grade,

as well as to make family history

inquiries.  These quiet behaviors

near lamps were for today made,

given the outdoor cold, wet, gray misery.

+++++

It was an indoor kind of day

on which to do little–and that

at a leisurely pace–and to consume

caffeine and well-lit to stay,

for such weather affects me bad-

ly; outside felt like doom.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 8, 2013 COMMON ERA

Above:  A View in Athens, Georgia, November 8, 2013

Photograph by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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Leaves litter the asphalt of the parking

spaces as a golden glow does shine

as the sun approaches its setting

once more on this day most fine.

+++++

Many trees their colors have turned,

displaying gorgeous golden-hued leaves.

The sight of them is a grace unearned,

a wonder which mighty God weaves.

+++++

Other trees have yet to complete this change,

so future joys of nature remain in store.

Such manifold pleasures will truly range

a variety of shades and augment the lore

+++++

of this season this year, prompting

us to recall it fondly after it has

passed.  Then the wonder of this thing

will gladden our hearts until, at last,

+++++

the seasons turn once again to this

cooler time and nature’s encore

of autumnal splendor does us kiss

quite sweetly once more.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 8, 2013 COMMON ERA

Above:  The Gray Robe of Twilight (Between 1900 and 1912), by Charles Melville Dewey (1849-1937)

Publisher and Copyright Claimant = Detroit Publishing Company

Image Source = Library of Congress

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994023344/PP/)

Reproduction Number = LC-D416-29865

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As twilight draws her dusky curtain

In silence o’er the earth;

As stars their twinkling rays and daw

With sparkling lights of mirth,

Mankind is drawn in restful silence.

To homes of peace and love,

Where thoughts of each are giv’n full-play

From soil–to heav’n above.

The children soon are all at rest

Content with joy and fun;

The working folk are happy, too,

I know their task’s well-done.

Others in the dusk of life,

Begin anew to think

Of what this life has been to them,

For now they’re at Death’s brink.

From East and West, from North to South,

As twilight falls around,

Man’s thoughts are ever turned to God

Who made the earth, silence, and sound.

RANDOLPH WINBURN BARRETT

AUGUST 20, 1932 COMMON ERA

Above:  Twilight on the Dunes, by Earl Howell Reed (1863-1931)

Image Source = Library of Congress

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002698688/)

Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-76602

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At the close of ev’ry day

Comes a time of peace.

Husbands go to home and wife;

Troubles end; worries cease.

Children stop their fun and play,

Mothers sit and rest,

Birds and beasts go swiftly home

To lov’d ones in their nest.

Lovers seek a quiet place

To hold their trysting hour.

All are held in rapt’rous awe

By twilight’s gentle power.

RANDOLPH WINBURN BARRETT

AUGUST 20, 1932 COMMON ERA

Above:  Peach Blossoms, Between 1900 and 1906

Image Source = Library of Congress

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994009098/PP/)

Reproduction Number = LC-D4-16304

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God’s garden is a wondrous thing,

It covers all the world.

‘Tis filled with blossoms of all kinds,

Wee birds, and flow’rs unfurled.

There are beautiful ponds all thro’ it,

Larger than any of ours;

But they’re there, and are of His making,

Objects of infinite pow’rs.

—–

At night He sends refreshing sleep,

Like dew upon wild flowers,

To cool and res them after day’s

Hot sun and trying hours.

With gentle, warming rays;

He sends the rain to give them drink

And food, thro’ all their days.

—–

God doesn’t want His gard’n abused

At any time or place;

He wants each flow’r to bloom for Himself

In beauty and with grace.

For each beautiful life, seen by all,

Helps each of us, no matter how weak;

May work in God’s garden some.

RANDOLPH WINBURN BARRETT

AUGUST 5, 1932 COMMON ERA

Above:  Nocturne (1878), by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

Image Source = Library of Congress

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/90713302/)

Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-100648

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When Winter’s dark’ning sky

Draws twilight to its close,

When lights glow soft and warm,

And shadows round us lie;

When fires burn bright and true,

And all within is cheer;

While joy and love await,

Then comes the night–and you.

—–

When birds their springtime call

Send trilling through the air;

When Spring’s first flowers bloom,

And shadows gently fall;

When stars, set in the blue,

Shine softly up above;

When breezes gently blow,

Then comes the night–and you.

—–

When Summer days are long,

And daylight slowly fades,

When lights first burn at dusk,

And every bird’s in song;

When sunset’s crimson hue

Is swiftly turned to gold;

When shines the moon above,

Then comes the night–and you!

RANDOLPH WINBURN BARRETT

JULY 22, 1932 COMMON ERA

Above:  Early Moonlight (Between 1900 and 1912), by Ben Foster (1852-1926)

Publisher and Copyright Claimant = Detroit Publishing Company

Image Source = Library of Congress

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994023108/PP/)

Reproduction Number = LC-D416-599

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EDITOR’S COMMENT:

Circumstantial evidence leads me to conclude, via Ockham’s Razor, that “L.C. On the Hill” is LaGrange College, LaGrange, Georgia, with its campus on a hill.  My grandmother, Nell Barrett Taylor (1915-2001) was a student there in 1932.  The college was not yet coed, so maybe her brother Randolph was visiting her.  And he was obviously recuperating from a break-up with a girlfriend.

http://www.lagrange.edu/index.html

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 10, 2013 COMMON ERA

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As I sit alone at my window,

I hear not a sound,

For the town is still and sleeping

As the watchman makes his round.

—–

The moon is in the heavens,

Looking majestically down,

Upon the earth beneath it,

Upon the sleeping town.

—–

The moon descends the western sky,

And I watch its fading glory,

I think what it means to me–

A few lines will tell the story.

—–

The majestic moon, riding high,

Was the height of our happy love.

With the fading splendor of the moon,

Dark clouds loiter above.

—–

These clouds, which hang so lovely,

Are the darkness which I now know–

For your love is mine no longer,

And I still love you so.

GEORGE WASHINGTON BARRETT

APRIL 1932 COMMON ERA

Above:  At Sunset (Between 1900 and 1912), By Charles Davis (1856-1933)

Publisher and Copyright Claimant = Detroit Publishing Company

Image Source = Library of Congress

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994022533/PP/)

Reproduction Number = LC-D416-48

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Twilight falls with peaceful silence

As the Sun’s last rays are flung

Out across a blue horizon

And the evening hymn is sung.

—–

Who can paint so great a picture

Of the sky with gold inlaid?

Who describe such restful silence

When the light begins to fade?

—–

No mortal’s brush can paint that scene,

No pen describe that hush;

No tongue can tell the soul’s response

To that touch of master-brush.

—–

His life was like the great sunset

At the close of each short day,

Except His glory never fades–

And the sunsets pass away.

RANDOLPH WINBURN BARRETT

JULY 18, 1932 COMMON ERA