A Picture of Dorian in Grays
By Dikki-Jo Mullen
The summer sky this evening, August 26, 2019, was a study in shades of grey, a strange lemon colored blur and a few glimpses of turquoise. The atmosphere crackled with a sinister expectancy. All day long the weather news stories have traced the path of Dorian, the latest hurricane in the making. All I could think of was “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. That tale by the Irish poet and novelist Oscar Wilde was first published in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine in July, 1890. The story tells of an outwardly handsome but hedonistic and abusive aristocrat whose portrait kept changing to reflect and reveal his heartless and ugly soul. Approaching from across the ocean, the path of this storm recently dubbed “Dorian” seems to bode ill for Florida. It’s an apropos namesake for the notorious Victorian villain. The sky this evening foreshadows the likelihood of some stormy hurricane haunted days ahead soon. Here is a water color I just did. The swirling sky brought these thoughts to the surface as the rains began. Tomorrow is the time to assemble a hurricane survival kit just in case … extra cat food, candles, jugs of grocery store unsweet ice tea, jars of peanut butter and a bag of fresh apples. As you look at the picture of Storm Dorian, what do you feel? What hurricane supplies do you need?
A Storm Named Dorian
August 27, 2019 by Dikki Jo Mullen
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