A quick, dramatic moment outdoors is caught here: clouds race overhead and their shadows charge down the street like horses. That rushing movement opens into a burst of color and light, turning the scene almost dreamlike. The speaker sees purple and gold, lacquered reds, green jade, and the glittering wings of dragon-flies. Sun and rain mix together, so the light seems stitched into the rainfall and the rain shimmers with sunlight. The opening and closing lines feel restless and energetic, while the middle feels suspended and rapturous. The speaker is not just watching weather—it feels like being inside a vivid, fleeting work of art, where motion, color, and sensation blur together.
Irradiations V — Summary
Over the roof-tops race the shadows of clouds; Like horses the shadows of clouds charge down the street.
Whirlpools of purple and gold, Winds from the mountains of cinnabar, Lacquered mandarin moments, palanquins swaying and balancing Amid the vermilion pavilions, against the jade balustrades. Glint of the glittering wings of dragon-flies in the light: Silver filaments, golden flakes settling downwards, Rippling, quivering flutters, repulse and surrender, The sun broidered upon the rain, The rain rustling with the sun.
Over the roof-tops race the shadows of clouds; Like horses the shadows of clouds charge down the street.