Lest I Think I Walk Alone
By Barbara Desrosiers
polymer clay, acrylic, and wire
2003

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Trust The Tortoise
By Mary Kennan Herbert

The old fellow oozing past us in his private dome,
his own nave, reminds us of us, naturally.
All our colleagues at the zoo usually do
give us a preview of metamorphosis and eternity.
Unpressed for time, or unimpressed,
they show their mirrors of the audience in palmy
days at age 30, 40, 50. We try to age gracefully
as a gazelle but, leapin' lizards, we usually fail.
Everyone gets 365 chances and a new calendar.
Want wings? If you can reinvent yourself, then do.
It's as easy as sliding into the baptismal pool,
sleek as a seal or noisy as a parrot at prayer. Real.
Above all, be patient. The tortoise slowly hauls
portraits into church, through the looking glass.

(This poem was previously published in "The Glass", the journal of The Christian Literary Studies Group, an international organization based in England.)

email: maryk.herbert@verizon.net

Born in New Jersey, Barbara L. Desrosiers began painting at the age of eleven, but didn't grasp the import of that drive until she was in her third decade. Trained in fine arts at the University of Rhode Island, Barbara has also studied informally in art communities all over the world. Her marriage to an active duty military chaplain has allowed her to live and work in many different places across the United States and around the world. A strong relationship with God and her continuous search to understand His presence in the world around her inform and inspire her work, leading her to design pieces which are exploratory in nature while they strive to explain her relationship to creation.

email: turtlespirit@mac.com
website: www.turtlespiritstudio.com