Monthly Archives: March 2020

Hope

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Hope. acrylic and ink on watercolor paper, Lex Leonard

Sky opened to cede its tiny mandalas of ice blessing all below

Beet and cabbage paused, tomato and corn stilled

Is this the most remarkable thing you have ever seen

Laden morsels alight melting in summer’s heat
Most of them drying under sun’s guidance
intense in their purpose to bring relief
from season’s hymn

Vegetables sigh, give thanks, and resume

 

Author’s Note:

Our writing group was to bring a prompt, a line from a book.  I found this line from Tom Robbins’ Jitterbug Perfume the perfect one for me to use. It was not my prompt, but now I will read the book.

The beet is the most intense of vegetables.
from Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

The time given to write was twenty minutes. I took the line and wrote it down the page. I then wrote my poem beginning each line with the word from the prompt. Of course, through editing, things get changed around a bit. moved around, deleted and refined. You can still see remnants of the prompt. Thank you, Tom Robbins, for the inspiration.

And my painting, Hope, sprung from the poem.

Let Heal

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Let Heal, acrylic on watercolor paper, 16″ x 20″, Lex Leonard

 

Let Heal

Her hands were scratched, a little bloody. Not that she had silken hands. Quite the contrary. Her’s were worker hands and she wasn’t much for smelly lotions and potions to make one beautiful. She had more pressing matters to tend.

Her climb was more difficult than she remembered. The brush, thicker than usual. That was odd since water had been a bit scarce. But here she was, wiping her hands on her long blue cape that looked like night sky. A little dirt was a blessing. A bit of blood, a consecration.

Moving aside branches, she found a space just big enough to stand within. A circle. It was the calling place.

Looking around she saw the streets below darkened with fear and sadness. Was she looking at the land or within her heart?

Yes.

She felt their voices. A slight breeze. She raised her head.

Cradled, nursed
as in long ago on her mother’s sweet breast
a place of no worry
two of them
Source and child of hope

May all beings be safe

Cars ended their journey
a sigh of relief released into the ether
footsteps tiptoed not to wake the still
in and out, a mantra, Earth’s own breath

May all beings be at peace

A trickle of blood, life
a speck of pathogen, an ending
all beings connected to diagnosis
and curative

May all beings be healthy

Climb away from fear
allow it to rest at your feet
be still to hear their call
make room

May all beings live with grace

When sun nudged through the branches to stroke her cheek, she stood dropping her cape to feel the warmth.

The trip down the side of the shock would offer new perspective and nourish wisdom gained in her quarry.