Luke Howard, an amateur meteorologist, developed a cloud classification system in the early 19th century. The plaque on his former house in north London, describes him as a “namer of clouds”
His work was referenced in poems by Goethe and by Shelley. The phrase “nursling of the sky” is from Shelley’s poem, “The Cloud”.
Curdled milk from a fear-soaked cow.
The sulphurous pools of Hades.
Charnel house fog.
Nursling of the Sky.
Blank manuscript.
Ale top.
Mizzle mist.
Seafoam fret.
Sow’s back.
Swallow’s underbelly.
The creeping unreason of religion.
Outside, an accumulation.
Luke leaves under a cloud.