A friend from my poetry circle honoured me with a birdhouse painted with Ukrainian colours. John has since passed away, and this summer we were finally able to give the birdhouse a home in our garden.
Happy to say, John, that the chickadees have settled in and I am joyfully reminded of you everyday.
What’s more exciting than a ring full of peanuts and a cast of blue jays?
Photography mine
Essence is essence
and flat as I might feel
shadow reveals otherwise;
such is the mystery of life
Orange is my essence –
the promise of sunshine
and creativity, and… I envy
blue its expansiveness
Constrained as I am
by conformity –
this silver-framed
existence a settling
But shadows don’t settle
they stretch and bend
and exclaim rebellion
savagely defending essence.
(Slanted Orange was written in 2022 as a collaborative effort with a local photographer. The efforts of our poetry group are published in a book called the Minimalist Eye. Click here to see the whole collection as well as the photographs that inspired each poem. I’ve used my own art for this post.)
Cast my shadow over white banks
assert presence: proud, defiant
Will find beauty in deserted places
and colour in the monochrome
Haunted by a Winter state of mind
resolved to stretch despite chill.
(Image my creation)
Examining the intricacies
of a spider’s weaving
Marvelling as a mother raccoon
carries her babies one by one
while a bobcat prowls the tree line
Delighting in the birth of a calf
anticipating the arrival of more
Wonder and trepidation
coinciding – and I, behind
lens, am child again
wide-eyed basking
in the glorious outdoors.
Elaborate, the tree forts
imagination envisions
Indifferent, the rationale
that overpowers inspiration
I balk, abandon hope,
build a wall instead,
forgetting…
Creativity is not linear,
tolerates input, planning,
some alternatives preferred.
(Featured image from personal collection. Â Doesn’t it just say: Â “Climb me!”? Â This image is a Live Oak, in Texas, and is available on various products at Society6.)
Even as we let go
of that which no longer serves
our hearts grow wings.
*****
I am venturing into new territory,
and have established a virtual store front with Society6: Â KnutsonKreations.
I would love it if you’d check me out. Â Society6 is offering an Artist Promotion through to Thursday, February 21 at midnight – 25% off and free shipping worldwide using the link above.
Creating “poetry-to-go” has been a dream of mine. Â This is the beginning!
Is it just me, or is anyone else feeling low on energy these days? Â Wishing you all a laid-back Sunday.
One Woman's Quest 