Winter Birds
March Nor’Easter
The blizzard brings heavy, wet snow
that nests in the empty boughs
and coats long, thin ends of branches
like thick braids of white hair.
The view disappears among
the intricate tangle of weighty limbs,
as birds, with feathers fluffed, flock to feeder.
A rush of wind and a thunderous crash
splinters an overburdened tree.
Lights go dim and power is lost
to the tumult of the storm.
Lainie Senechal
Winter Bird Feeder
Snowstorm
The snow blows in from the sea -
creates fragile white blossoms
on the end of thin azalea branches
and erects ivory statues on objects
that remain in a winter yard.
The distant sun glints off
large mounds in the shiny coverlet
which now shrouds the land.
Lainie Senechal
Announcement: Lainie will have art and poetry in this virtual exhibition: KAJI ASO STUDIO presents An uplifting virtual presentation of Art, Music & Poetry inspired by the theme of SANCTUARY. Online Premiere: Sunday, February 28th at 7:00 p.m. EST. This event is FREE and open to the public. More info: administrator@kajiasostudio.
Indigo Bunting Waits for His Mate
Indigo Gate
I begin a rise above marshes;
a canopy of gray darkens to indigo,
sky thickened with ashen quilt
of smoke from incense burning.
Sea’s indigo depths broken
only with white wavelets,
lotuses against kimono blue.
Climb hill in solitude and silence,
park deserted on this solemn, peaceful day.
Suddenly, two large drops of sunlight
weave and bob in meadow,
diving in and out of grasses
lined with lacy weed and
rotund hips of wild rose.
A pair of goldfinches feed in field;
a slight squabble over seed
sends them into a whirl of wings,
swirl of melted butter.
I pass under the arch
of a gate to sacred space
where separations blur
and, like a primitive or a child,
I am lost in the moment
of this delight.
Lainie Senechal
First published in Dasoku, Kaji Aso Institute for the Arts, Spring 2001
Watercolor based on photo by Nancy Smith, nature photographer and fellow birder.