A Pause for Beauty:
An inspirational art journal.
So Quietly the Earth
Dawn Psalm, Pine Valley
1
While I was not watching
sunrise came with a ruby throat
and gold-flecked wings.
2
Blue
and a small wisp of cloud
above the dark pine.
A jaysquall
leaves a small bruise
on one corner
of sky.
3
Boiling coffee.
A blue enamel pot
nestled in warm coals
beside the cold
sliding water.
Sky so close
you fear
bumping your head.
4
A brown breaks surface
rising to wingshadow
drifting on the blue selvage
of pond.
5
Golden lace.
Sunrise pours slantwise
into clear water
through the blue spruce,
the deep tangle of pine
and purled woodsmoke.
6
I turned
and the earth hushed.
While I leaned into silence
a morning too vast to fathom
filled with light.
7
Praise.
- David Lee, from the book So Quietly the Earth
. . .
Day after day paddling
The north shore of Lake Superior
Sun rising behind us and setting in front.
In a little canoe
On the world’s biggest lake.
Slowly submerging
Into a different reality
Wind, sun, rain and whitecaps.
Huge cliffs stretch for miles along the shore
Petroglyphs
Made by the ancient peoples who summered here
Seeking respite from the relentless inland bugs.
Little coves, miles of islands
Huge trees stretch along the shore
Downed by mammoth waves
A reminder of the power of this place.
Down thirty feet through crystal clear water
You can see the bottom.
Big fish.
Driftwood fires at night
Sandy beaches, rarely visited anymore
Loons and owls and bears
Bears that saunter through camp at night.
Leaving their tracks in the sand.
Storms blow up quickly
You need to be careful
But fear doesn’t help.
Suspend your imagination.
Especially when caught in big swells.
Instead, paddle.
Days spent windbound
Staring at whitecaps
Stretching to the horizon
When will you let us get started again?
The lake, the weather
Traveling companions
You come to love
But not trust.
Journal Notes