Sunflowers Unfurling

Several roadsides have bloomed with sunflowers in the past weeks. Finding them before their performance is a lesson in change and growth.Tightly closed with a sliver of color visible, the first only hints at what it will grow into as its face turns toward  the sun. The shyer ones follow more slowly as unsure of themselves and afraid to unfurl their petals. Slowly, as more chances are taken, color and essence begin to emerge.

Fear or indecision, perhaps a lack of purpose or awareness of expectation keeps some from blossoming fully . The braver ones stand tall as to offer example and hopeful encouragement.

Blossoming is a thoughtful and time needing task.

Becoming a Roadside Artwork

Along a stretch of road in the eastern part of the county, this car has rested for a number of years on the remains of an old gas station.  Scorching summers and wet winters deepens its patina as it silently sits. Vandals have broken windows and glass shards and spider work lace patterns are woven into its design. Deflated tires make it unable to run and wasps and wildlife have nested into its once proud seats. As rust grows and colors morph, its texture and presence grow more painterly. Each season and trespass add marks to the composition. I don’t pass by often, but it’s evolution into a work of art is impossible to ignore. Maybe that’s why it remains waiting while trains and vehicles pass it by , a lesson in becoming and the beauty of change.

Who She Might Have Been

This photo is a collage of a painting in an antique shop of a young woman that was dated 1957 and a photo of a dress form and frame in another antiques shop.They make me wonder who she turned out to be and if she became herself.The poem that follows “Appropriately Frayed ” is not an ode to myself but to women who accept who they’ve become.

     Appropriately Frayed

More comfortable in my own skin,

Fitting the place I’ve earned

Where loosened threads allow room to breathe.

My unbound pages

Can dance in the breeze.

A few worn spots – wrinkled, dog-licked

Add a layer of interest.

While my eyes still seek

the unexpected and untried.

 Valuing the questions more than the answers.