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Blue Water, Green Rocks

By Michael Chesley Johnson
oil, en plein air
8" x 10"

 

Benediction
By Ronda Broatch

Sweet grass smolders
           in hollowed stone.
      Fanned with eagle feathers,
its breath finds her; her eyes
           brim with sea,
                      or winter sun—
she doesn’t know.
    Knows only this prayer
       burns deeper than words.
                        Forgiveness
transfigures
   into birds of possibility;
      blemish embraces its own
sacred beauty.
                       Eagle flies,
   pulls the sky’s
     cool ocean over her.
                  This blessing
   she understands, and lifts
a fragrant braid
                       of sweet grass
to her face, inhales
      its hidden litany,
                 and breathes out.

 
     
 
 
     
  Ronda Broatch is the author of Some Other Eden, (Finishing Line Press, 2005). Her work has appeared, or is forthcoming in the American Poetry Journal, Dogwood, Diner, Crab Creek Review, Pebble Lake Review, and Tiferet. Twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Ronda is the recipient of the 2005 Kay Snow Poetry Award. She recently attended a residency at Soapstone - A Writing Retreat for Women, where she could be seen, walking the creek, speaking to salmon. She attends Grace Episcopal Church on Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Email: sheepgrins@silverlink.net

Michael Chesley Johnson is an award-winning painter whose oil and pastel landscapes can be seen in galleries in New Mexico, Colorado, Maine and Canada. Working primarily en plein air, Michael excels in bringing color, light and the feeling of being in the Great Outdoors to his paintings. A Signature Member of Plein Air New Mexico and a juried member of the Pastel Society of America and Oil Painters of America, he also is a popular workshop teacher. Also a writer, Michael is Contributing Editor for The Pastel Journal and author of The Art of Ann Templeton, a retrospective of the internationally-known artist's career. He has also written for American Artist, The Artist's Magazine, Southwest Art and other publications. Michael is a member of the Church of the Ascension in Cloudcroft, New Mexico.

Web site: www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com

 
     
 
 

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©2006 The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts