Downs in Winter by Eric Ravilious, 1934
8th May 2012
Thirties
7th May 2012
after Eric Ravilious
The weight of the decade looms
In the maudlin texture of the sky.
Grey and khaki-colour fields
Slope into valleys.
A kind of impasse,
A depiction of England.
Belying the strokes of watercolour
Pencil marks remain.
The language of practice
Crystallised beyond glass.
All around, views from South Downs
Permeate. The mists linger
In the stillness of the scene,
With the music of his name
Sapid like an adjective.
