Week 17 Reading Notes: The Coming Night (From The Berkeley Hills) (Ricks), Part A

This poem was beautiful, and I am not quite sure how I missed it when we were originally assigned the reading, but I sure am glad that I got to go back and read it. This poem is all about the view from one of my favorite spots in the entire Bay Area; the Berkeley Hills. Back in high school I would go up to Fish Ranch Road and hangout and look at the view all the time, it is one of the sweetest views in the Bay, with a perfect 180 degree view of Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, the Bay Bridge & the Golden Gate. I am sure that this view was even more beautiful when this poem was written in 1913, before every inch of land was covered with buildings and traffic, and the way that Ricks describes it makes me wish I could have been there. He begins by talking about the wind coming from the bay toward him in the hills: "The western wind moves softly, Waving the tender grass, The trees more staid and lofty, Scarce bend to let it pass." This makes me think of the hills around the Black Diamond Mines that I hike sometimes here in Antioch in the spring time when all of the grass is still alive, and the wind blows the grass all around, it is beautiful. Ricks goes on to talk about the wildlife in the area: "The cattle down the hillside, Move slowly, homeward bent; Cooing doves and mates in pride Breathe out their sweet content...Swallows playing, dot the sky; The world prepares for sleep." The scene that he is describing after this is gorgeous, with the sun setting on the bay creating a breathtaking mixture of colors before darkness falls over the area. I have watched so many sunsets from the Berkeley Hills, so I understand why he was so moved by this scene, I just wish I could have seen it when it was much less crowded like the landscape he is viewing. This was a great poem and I love that I am actually able to connect so personally to what the author is talking about.