Savannah Grace

I wrote this poem after spending a day painting one of my favorite savannahs at Prairie Spirit in August 2007. I've not kept count on how many paintings I've done there but the energy still moves me to keep going. The most recent is "North Savannah--Autumn" finished in Oct '08

36" x 48" oil on canvas.

Afternoon sun graces this savannah

warming this pubic mound's verdant vetch grasses

and skeletal stony ridges.

Seasoned oaks shelter her

as she holds them.

Limbs of shade bear the memory of past storms

and stiff brambles testify to cleansing fires.

Butterfly's weightless dance invites me to linger and laugh

at how much beauty I have not seen or felt.

The surround sound symphony of crickets and locusts

erases the memory of time.

Luscious savannah, you birth my longing and untold passions;

nurture my dreams of who I am

and what I can share with others

thanks to you.

The journey of awakening

I chose awakening to love and joy as the title of my blog because it is the shortest summary of my purpose in being on the planet. I am awakening to love and joy through the full expression of my creative gifts (visual, verbal, written). All my dreams for life come from that core purpose. Art in its various forms has been a powerful (but not the only) channel of that awakening for me--music, painting, sculpture, dance, poetry, ritual and more. There is only THIS moment and art has a way of keeping us in it and transforming our experience. As a painter and sculptor, http://johnmix.com/ I have noticed the 2-way street of creation. I create it and it creates me.
Conversation and words do the same. What we say and commit to shapes our lives and experience follows. Listening to others share is a powerful gift we give each other. I will be sharing my poems, reflections, small sketches and paintings, and I look forward to our conversations.