The Mother of Modern Arts
―for Canadian artist and writer Emily Carr
Go out there into the glory of the woods. See God in every particle of them expressing glory and strength and power, tenderness and protection. Know that they are God expressing God made manifest. . . .
―Emily Carr, “Hundreds and Thousands,” in The Complete Writings of Emily Carr, p. 675
I.
As you sat among the cedars, did you
seek its noble well, its rhythmic waves
and inner caves, its wheel of slump and
swell? Embraced within abundance,
did you sense your soul ignite, stir
amidst the bounty, lift within its light?
II.
Did you lift within its light as you settled
in its sea, its sea of moss and bracken
stalks, its tangle-torch of trees? When
you perched upon its grandeur, its
helter-skelter floor, were your paintings
made in manifest with God’s eternal core?
III.
Made in manifest with God’s eternal core,
your paintings pulse with sylvan scope
and surge of coastal shore; they stand
agog with totems and dance a mad joy-
dance in verdant scenes and citrine greens,
in oil-swept expanse.
IV.
In verdant scenes and citrine greens,
in oil-swept expanse, in darkened drapes
and swirling capes of foliage and pine,
you captured nature’s fullness, divinity’s
design―in unity and oneness, you created
through God’s eyes
V.
You created through God’s eyes with
glory, strength, and power, noticing,
imagining, until your final hour. Your
vision and persistence have given others
sight―we stir amidst your bounty, lift
within its light.
The Sound of Winter
The icy entanglements of January weigh heavily
upon the crystallized tongues of field grass,
where the frozen remains of leaves lisp in rimy
idiom, and trees mutter midst veils of frost, convey
truths through cracks and creaks, speak clearly
in polar tones as geese vocalize in V-formation.
Here, snowflakes gather to exchange whispers,
recite quietude to the eager discourse of mice,
when the gentle expressions of the season yield
to the harsh echoes of snowmobiles advancing
across the lake.
Jeannie E. Roberts lives in an inspiring setting near Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, where she writes, draws and paints, and often photographs her natural surroundings. She has authored four poetry collections including the most recent The Wingspan of Things (Dancing Girl Press, 2017). Learn more about her at http://www.jrcreative.biz.
Portage Magazine 