Oh do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of your busy

and very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
in a field of thistles

for a musical battle,
to see who can sing
the highest note,
or the lowest,

or the most expressive of mirth,
or the most tender?
Their strong, blunt beaks
drink the air

as they strive
melodiously
not for your sake
and not for mine

and not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude--
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thing

just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world.
I beg of you,

do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performance.
​
It could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.
​

     Yes, yes, yes … “it takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.”  EE Cummings is one of my favorite American poets whose precise, simple words inspire this humble spirit.   My artistic interests are always developing so during an early encaustic techniques workshop,   I returned home from the day, smelling of bees wax and feeling highly excited from working with the medium.  I spent a couple of hours looking through magazines, books and other materials to pull together images to incorporate on substrates for the next day.  The unfolding of this process is what I enjoy most.  No set plans or ideas, only the mind’s eye leading me along.  It’s an extremely versatile and fulfilling process. Several workshops later, this encaustic inspiration materialized; a visual reminder to remain strong, brave, tender, and whimsical.