Orcas
The sweet scent of hawthorn
Reminder of home, drifting on the air
As we walk the gritty path to Eastsound
Exchanging stories, thoughts, laughter,
Tentative tentacles searching out friendship,
Blessed by sun, summer weather in May,
Sharing delight in Earth’s beauty:
Twitching bunnies on Smuggler’s lawn,
Stately heron, ignorant of voyeurs,
Stirring at dawn to perform a leisurely levee,
Seals, sprawled on the rocks below beacon
And trees, inviting us like the Friendly Giant
To “look up, way up”
Wing us with their strength and longevity
Tough, rough bark that withstands fire or
Smooth, silky, glowing madrona
Amid a hundred shades of green.
The water, glinting, flowing, impossible to draw
Daning lightly over rocks and stones
Pouring broken, whipped to airy white over the falls
The fresh scent of water and tang of the sea.
How can one possibly capture it on paper?
I fight my familiar demons who tempt to despair.
I would paint the scent of water
and the warmth of the sun
But, like Icarus, crash on my own shortcomings.
Anonymous student; submitted by Caroline Buchanan
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Ah, anonymous student of Caroline’s:
I, too have said the same thing (though not as poetically) when photographing similar scenes around Orcas for the last 16 years. The results come in on my 2 dimensional screen sans depth, smell, taste, sound, motion, texture, true color,…dead. Hopefully, the sight (my photo) will elicit some of these senses. Actually, if you ask a viewer what the image “means” or how it speaks to “them” (read Steve Henigson’s latest musing in O.I.), they may come up with a totally unique experience, and you’ll say, “That’s interesting…I never looked at it that way” I guess it’s our human need to try to connect and understand our surroundings. It’s all an interpretation of reality. That said, one can then feel free to create anew the scene. It stands alone in its splendor.