I got to be in one of Mr Paul's Art Day video classes! We talk poetry and art and show you how to make your own tiny book at home with supplies you have on hand. I'd love to see what you make!
Poems
Be Careful Where You Step! /
it's thistle season
thick spines and sticklers climbing
into purple hats
Holding on /
one
lionhearted dandelion
holding fast her
feathery wig
Practicing Hope /
A year and more ago I was finding solace from the political turmoil in the world by tuning in to the physical world around me, surprised by the small but significant delights I found there. Taking these moments back to my desk, the act of writing and drawing about them soothed me, gave me hope. The world goes on.
After my show of poems and paintings Surprised by Delight was up in a gallery for the spring and summer, I didn't stop noticing, but I fell away from the practice of writing and drawing about these moments.
Now, in the spring of 2020, as we live in an uncertain present, I am finding tremendous comfort in the daily act of noticing, turning words around, noodling with pen and paint. I am surprised every day when new delights appear, and when words rise up to greet them. I have hope.
Words the Birds Say:
cheery up cheery up
luckluckluckluck
we see you we see you
cheery up up up
Morning on the Beach /
hard packed sand
this bold crow
marches
on
defying
my curious dog
Sharing the Road /
after the storm
worm explores
this new world
As I Was Walking Down the Street One Day /
a hundred silk hammocks
hanging in the hedge
spiders take a nap
Dance Partner /
a leaf alive this
flittering fluttering moth
dances with me
Autumn Studio Visitor /
chickadee blows in
through my open window and
makes herself at home
Tiny Acrobat /
afternoon sun
bumblebee bouncing on
lavender stems
Windy Autumn Afternoon /
old brown leaf tethered
with gossamer thread
spider flies a kite
Excuses Excuses /
words are timid with
this hummingbird hovering
over my paper
Backyard + Bird Words /
a banditry of chickadees
this quiet cactus
conducting the choir
Sitting on the Back Step /
my woolly red sweater --
flower enough for this
foggy day damselfly
Morning Commute /
duck and duck
up from
stream and green
chasing
sunrise shadows
A Garden Wall Visitor /
banana slug--
rosemary blossoms hitch
a ride
Delight /
after morning rain
a thousand pink star flowers
one persistent bee
Happy Spring! /
birdbath filling up
succulents getting plump
SPRING!
Buster, 6pm /
BUSTER, 6PM
My dog's ears are taut sails in stiff winds
tuned for a six note song
slam
beep
clomp clomp
rattle
creak
HOME!
My Dog Dreams /
My Dog Dreams
My dog dreams of deep grass
a pungent trail
squirrel tails
corpulent frogs
a tasty stick
He's a lion lurking
stalking deer
hunting with eagles
soaring with hawks
He's a coyote keening
for a broken moon
a black bear cub
in his underground room
he's conquering winter
conjuring spring
My dog dreams of deep grass
-sketch and poem, Anne Ylvisaker
It's Thursday. I'm writing. Buster's in the doorway, dreaming. We're both waiting for spring.