Day 22. The inside on the outside
“Inside on the Outside” 6×6, oil on canvas
One of the reasons I do the 31 in 31 every year is for the gifts. There are always little unexpected connections, joys and insights that pop up along the way. They come unannounced and without fanfare. They feel like childhood Christimas morning if you were to wake up and have no idea it was Christams morning. I’ll tell you about one.
Last week, one of the writers in the group wrote a poem that references the series of wilderness-haired women I’ve been exploring. I’ve finally added a little brass band to this one as well as scribbled Caroline’s poem into the background. I’ve included a legible version below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
“Half-Shadowed Woman”
by Caroline Dazet Sobolewskit
Today I saw a woman
With wilderness for hair
She startled me
She is me
It was as though
Seeing
the inside on the outside
all the wiry synapses
A blink of light or color
here and there
There a thought
here a memory
emotion below
drive at the uppermost
corner
There is music in that
wilderness
sharp crescendos
soft chords
There is prayer
There the whispered petitions
of the beating heart
somewhere beneath all those vines
There too is paint
and color
and laughter
a mural of faces
an orchestra of voices
Here and there
are flowers
Tendrils that end in leaves
and some that simply taper off
Oh that I might
show you inside
that wilderness
that you might know it
As I do
Denise Hopkins
January 22, 2022
Share Post
blog
Related Blog Posts
Ready to Ride: On Memory, Making, and the Year of the Horse
A childhood Chinese restaurant, a rooster, the Year of the Horse, and a few unexpected horses scratched into a vase....
I Go Before You Always: The Words We Carry With Us
Some words stay with us for years, waiting for the moment we need them. The story behind I Go Before...
Paintings About Rest | The Story Behind the Rest Series
Four small paintings began with a single question from psychologist Nicola Jane Hobbs: Have I rested enough to do my...