Poignant 2012 by Drea Jensen
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/poignant-2012-drea-jensen.html

Singapore
Mary Oliver

In Singapore, in the airport,
A darkness was ripped from my eyes.
In the women’s restroom, one compartment stood open.
A woman knelt there, washing something in the white bowl.

Disgust argued in my stomach
and I felt, in my pocket, for my ticket.

A poem should always have birds in it.
Kingfishers, say, with their bold eyes and gaudy wings.
Rivers are pleasant, and of course trees.
A waterfall, or if that’s not possible, a fountain rising and falling.
A person wants to stand in a happy place, in a poem.

When the woman turned I could not answer her face.
Her beauty and her embarrassment struggled together,
and neither could win.
She smiled and I smiled. What kind of nonsense is this?
Everybody needs a job.

Yes, a person wants to stand in a happy place, in a poem.
But first we must watch her as she stares down at her labor,
which is dull enough.
She is washing the tops of the airport ashtrays, as big as hubcaps,
with a blue rag.
Her small hands turn the metal, scrubbing and rinsing.
She does not work slowly, nor quickly, like a river.
Her dark hair is like the wing of a bird.

I don’t doubt for a moment that she loves her life.
And I want her to rise up from the crust and the slop and
fly down to the river.
This probably won’t happen.
But maybe it will.
If the world were only pain and logic, who would want it?

Of course, it isn’t.
Neither do I mean anything miraculous, but only
the light that can shine out of a life. I mean
the way she unfolded and refolded the blue cloth,
The way her smile was only for my sake; I mean
the way this poem is filled with trees, and birds.

Blossoming 2004 by Drea Jensen
Creation is about breaking down the barriers of different thoughts and letting them come together in the middle to create something new.
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/blossoming-2004-drea-jensen.html

Blossom

Sea of Emotion 2013 by Drea Jensen
Light rips through the darkness and unknown as if it were a hot knife through butter.
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/sea-of-emotion-2013-drea-jensen.html

“The sea is emotion incarnate. It loves, hates, and weeps. It defies all attempts to capture it with words and rejects all shackles. No matter what you say about it, there is always that which you can’t.”
― Christopher Paolini, Eragon

Art by Louise Bourgeois

“It is not so much where my motivation comes from but rather how it manages to survive.” ― Louise Bourgeois

Prayer for Cameron 2013 by Drea Jensen
The ability to stay strong and see the good when things are pushing down around you can go a long way, positivity is worth far more than some think.
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/prayer-for-cameron-2013-drea-jensen.html

Cameron Varnell

Cameron was born August 19, 2000 and he left this world on April 16, 2013, after a five-year battle with leukemia. Known for his bright smile and sparkling blue eyes, Cameron was brave, kind, mischievous, and full of an infectious energy. He loved playing video games, collecting precious stones, taking pictures, and playing with his little sister. He beat cancer five times! He stayed ahead in school, even when all odds were against him. He never lost his loving spirit, his curiosity about the world, and his joy in each day of living. He loved baseball and swimming, music and movies, and his friends and family. In his last battle with the disease, although he was in pain, Cameron made a brave choice not to be medicated but to be fully aware and present in his final days at home. He departed this earth free of fear and unafraid of his next journey. He willingly said goodbye to his earthly body, and to the fear and sadness that cancer had brought with it. Cameron is survived by his parents, Allison & George Tannehill and Lonnie Varnell & Bambi Nola, and a little sister, Cayenne, all formerly of Shreveport and now in Redway, CA. He also leaves behind a large and loving family, and many friends in both the Shreveport and Redway communities, as well as at St. Jude’s, where he spent much of the last several years. In addition, Cameron was an inspiration to the countless people who were touched by his story and the courage and strength with which he faced cancer over and over again.

Gracious 2012 by Drea Jensen
Receptive, perfect and complete: yet able to amplify the environment around us.
May our integrity help us be surrounded by that which brings spiritual joy.
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/gracious-2012-drea-jensen.html

Such Singing in the Wild Branches (2003)

It was spring
and finally I heard him
among the first leaves—
then I saw him clutching the limb

in an island of shade
with his red-brown feathers
all trim and neat for the new year.
First, I stood still

and thought of nothing.
Then I began to listen.
Then I was filled with gladness—
and that’s when it happened,

when I seemed to float,
to be, myself, a wing or a tree—
and I began to understand
what the bird was saying,

and the sands in the glass
stopped
for a pure white moment
while gravity sprinkled upward

like rain, rising,
and in fact
it became difficult to tell just what it was that was singing—
it was the thrush for sure, but it seemed

not a single thrush, but himself, and all his brothers,
and also the trees around them,
as well as the gliding, long-tailed clouds
in the perfectly blue sky— all, all of them

were singing.
And, of course, yes, so it seemed,
so was I.
Such soft and solemn and perfect music doesn’t last

for more than a few moments.
It’s one of those magical places wise people
like to talk about.
One of the things they say about it, that is true,

is that, once you’ve been there,
you’re there forever.
Listen, everyone has a chance.
Is it spring, is it morning?

Are there trees near you,
and does your own soul need comforting?
Quick, then— open the door and fly on your heavy feet; the song
may already be drifting away.

— Mary Oliver