Nature

May 30, 2024May 31, 2024

The Uncertainty of Nature

Time changes everything in sparkling grains of sand
moving with the tides driven by the pull of the moon
shadowy specters creeping into the landscape
lay down empty beings outlined by the moonlight

the Doe moves with her young Buck in rising sunlight
specters receding paying homage to life in motion
while time moves forward in orange yellow speed
the young Buck is alone in his search for food

the Doe has taken leave to birth her small fawn
returning with the pale blue of dawn but briefly
for her spotted tiny ‘mini me’ viewing a world new
seeing all that has come before with bright eyes

Nature uncertain, a changing labyrinth bellowing
blues, greens soft and wily while flowering blossoms
scream a rainbow of colors dancing across the stage
the young Buck will return with the Doe once again
her new fawn hidden until a new day begins

Image Below Taken From Public Domain Picture

May 28, 2023May 28, 2023

The Visitors

First the girls came by in their search for food
on the cusp of Winter and Spring treading close
but wary of every nuance of movement
every wisp of a blade of grass bent in the air

they came every day while the sun lay low
in a sky where days still short spoke of sunsets
filled with color but at times rift with storms
eager for apples filled with tasty, sweet juice

sadness came as their search for food was replaced
with the need to find shelter to birth new life
each day as dusk neared waiting, watching for them
to arrive and feel safe enough to meander and eat

but then the boys came, new visitors bold and sure
youth giving them bravado in knowing there would be
juicy, sweet apples for them as they knew this place
they had been here before the girls took a breath

the wilderness of Nature had given them a connection
a mother who had brought them looking for more
who then brought their sisters who would with caution
taste the sweetness of the gift of apples given them

Photo Taken by Myself and Digitized as Art

November 7, 2021November 7, 2021

Pressed Leaves In Time

Leaves pressed along and upon the road

rain soaked to become part of the landscape

pressed as though escaping from the pages

of a book long forgotten but still intrinsic

to a life lived, a day spent, a moment laden

in a time shared, a smile revealed still seen

in the mind’s eye with each passing year

to be held close in each raindrop that falls

leaves pressed not by human hand’s folly

but the unleashed presence of nature

pressed down by passing cars and in time

imprints of feet beneath a crunch of tires

pressed down but not between the pages

of sentimentality to be treasured in time

for with time these leaves will fade away

once part of life and will be once again

they are now integral to our landscape

sleeping a long awaited death in dying

a pause to give life a continuing cycle

time to breathe & wait for color again

while lone sentinel ferns see in silence

once a vibrant green they hold dying leaves

now a weathered color of red-orange rust

fronds curled in sadness under gray skies

knows their life is a reflection of leaves

pressed down in the road and the ground

it breathes a sigh unheard but for the wind

knowing in Spring life will come & find them

© November 2021 Renee Espriu

My Photo Transformed

October 9, 2021October 9, 2021

Fall’s Paintbrushes

The wheels of cars in traffic toss leaves around
nearly soundless but my ear picks up the dryness
of Fall rustling in the wind that mimics the sound
of confetti stained with the palest of golden yellow
or burnished bronze with brilliant crimson reds

all falling, swirling down on asphalt oil stained
that now becomes a veritable canvas lit stage
Nature’s wonder captivating me, mesmerized, awed

bringing my eyes to look skyward to them and I see
tall narrow canopies of trees appearing to be dipped
in the colors of a painter’s palette and a melee
of colorful drips descend from the branches aflutter
and all traffic noise becomes mute and disappears

Photo Taken From Public Domain Pictures & Created As Art

June 8, 2021June 8, 2021

The Killdeer and Red Clay

The Killdeer takes short running steps
in the grasses of Wyoming, reminiscent
of the Sand Plover on the beach
a sandy shore sparkling in the sun

singing their short high pitched song
creeping stealth but hesitating
then stopping to take in their
grassy surroundings

this they do each day routinely
as I take my walk in the heat of day
the winds gusting around me
that threaten but do not sway

for the scenery is new to me
a visitor here, as I admire contrasting
greens with that of the red clay earth
touched by iron oxide in Nature

in a landscape seeming barren, lacking
stretching toward the horizon line
is still teeming with life unseen
beauteous if you but take time to see

April 29, 2021April 29, 2021

The Sky So Close

This evening when I took my dog out I stood in awe
as I have done very few times in my life while looking at the sky
the clouds of gray and white as the sun broke through
I have felt this before but so rarely
I felt as though I could touch the very blue of the sky
as though it was so close it became more solid before me
instead of part of the Universe that surrounds me
the clouds felt the same as though they were so very close
I might touch them and feel the mass of them
even though they drifted about me and did not stay still

there may be one who causes everything in life
to look more beautiful than it has ever felt before
when I was a very young girl before everything changed
I might have looked at Nature in such a way
in wonderment of its very being
but now, incredulous as it may seem and it does
my world is as beautiful to me as when I was a girl
a world that holds me in awe and I am entranced
by the mystery of it, the magic of it
and life now begins anew

Image Taken From Public Domain Photos & Created As Art

March 27, 2021March 27, 2021

Awakened in Time

There are moments when time seems to stand still
to those of us who are trapped in its’ wake
as though our boat has lost one of it’s oars
thus enabling numbers of concentric circles
forming a whirlpool, disadvantaged proportions

where time seems to be held equally captive
in a time warp as though another universe
holds sway unknown to us until we are crossing
it’s unseen boundaries causing ripples
across the water a stone casually tossed
in by those onlookers unsuspecting

for we are unheeded until a life changing event
spins us ’round for us to suddenly take notice
of all gone unseen in Nature’s wonderment
and it is then we see clearly life’s window
open before us at breathtaking possibilities
to realize how long we have been away

Image Taken From Public Domain Pictures & Created As Art

February 19, 2021February 19, 2021

Snow Abates & Winter Remains

The snow is nearly gone now in the aftermath
of the effects of storms in a culmination
of microscopic snow flakes each unique
in their beauty as Nature’s creation
that left a deep blanket of white

leaving once white snow dirty, colored gray
after cleaning the air we breathe, soaking
up dirt particles from the landscape
of houses, cars, fences

even farm animals tidied up in the washing
but the air smells cleaner in the sharply
intense cold that remains a brisk reminder
Winter has not quite gone through an open door
leaving an entrance for Spring’s arrival

The Photo Below Taken From Public Domain Pictures & Created As Art

February 15, 2021February 15, 2021

Snow White in February

The Winter storm has abated
leaving behind feet of snow in places
rain falling now like bits of ice
not penetrating enough to cause
much needed melt

yet the tiny nuthatches and sparrows
are not minding as they leave
tiny footprints across snowy white
landscape

where some blades of green grass show
left from snow shovels pushed forward
to leave room for small canines
who might disappear from view

yet melt increases in equal measure
with the depth of snow left deep
flood watch will soon ensue
whilst rivers rise as Nature’s
gateway to the sea

Photo Below Taken by Myself

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020

A Dance of Trees and Bossa Nova

The clouds black in the distance
with patches of blue sky mingled in
as the clouds migrate close overhead

big fat drops of rain are resounding
everywhere they are hitting
with a big plop, a splat, being replaced
with millions more in their place

as I listen to the gentle, smooth refrain
of jazz and bossa nova I watch intently
trees in the distance are seemingly
swaying to and fro, branches lithe
leaves tremble as though listening

when it is the wind of nature’s breath
that propels them in their dancing
gives them the moves of the bossa nova
the rhythm of life as if speaking to me

what a glorious day to just be alive
to absorb your sounds of music playing
as we flutter to the peaceful strains
in synchronous harmony with the wind

The Image Below Is My Photo Created As Art