Day 18. Tenacity

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“Tenacity ” 28×22 , oil on canvas, framed

I needed a break from tiny paintings and decided to finish this larger piece I’ve been messing with for a few weeks now.

I asked the 31 online group today what has been the most surprising thing so far about this month. Just yesterday I was having lunch with a friend and telling her how amazed I am that each morning I have been visited by some little nugget of inspiration that I can turn into a poem. Certainly that can not last 31 days, and yet, so far…

So when this morning I was surprised by the absence of that little routine visit, after my fair share of throwing up my hands scratching out every word I’d written, I decided to write about that.

Writer’s Block, Birdwatching

I have stared for hours

at an open sky, finding nothing

but the swaying leaves,

laughing from sturdy branches

I have diligently looked out

into the great nothing air

field guide in hand–

ready to give words

to what I witness

binoculars leaving red rings

on the skin around my eyes

I have cursed the blank-canvas sky,

all its empty promises

And then–

a tiny flash of red

invites a whole host

of improbable others

they linger, mid-air

bright colors dripping down,

filling the page

Denise Hopkins

January 18, 2025