Elan Mudrow
Smidgens
The Artist
Upon mountain trails, the hiker might see signs of an old sheep herder, the craftsperson, who had built a hut of fallen trees in a meadow. It now stands abandoned upon bare fields of wild green.
Spring blooms still hold their heads, shyly, with memories of teeth from a flock who no longer adhere to a seasonal schedule.
A trickle sounds through the open space, a small creek, exposing the oldest glacier waters, forming rivulets upon its canvas.
Higher upon the mountain, rocks and caverns, wake up from under ice, hear the song of the sun for the first time, rough is the sculpture of these old children.
The hiker, still following the trail, sees the bare mountain as it really is, then later, by memory, paints the mountain.
Fields unafraid. Snow with its best face on.
(Photo: Black Butte from Three Fingered Jack)
24 Comments on “The Artist”
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Really an awesome one! I never spend enough time on a mountain, sigh..!
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Excellent. 😎🥀😎🥀😎🥀😎🥀😎🥀
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Looks vaguely volcanic to me
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Wonderful poem Elan, set to a beautiful background. Thanks for starting my day.
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They are all volcanoes, including the one I’m standing on in the photo! I think Three Sisters, which would be off to the right of the photo, are the only active ones in the area.
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beautiful photo and words. An artist crafts extraordinary words to paint a word picture. You’ve done that wonderfully.
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Nice words that fit the moment. I can really relate!
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Ahhh, there’s tenderness among …” ..these.old children “. If only we could climb together as we once did. Wonderful memories.
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A lovely write… wonderful imagery.
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My friend’s photography would go wonderfully with your writing! Love it!
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I absolutely love the idea of spring blooms shyly holding their heads.
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I usually don’t like using adverbs, so I gave that one some thought for a while. Thanks!
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Very beautiful writing.
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Feeling strangely held and nourished by the beauty of your poem!
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Beautiful depiction
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Is that a volcano or what!
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That’s Black Butte. Extinct volcano. If you look at the photo on the bottom of the page provided by my link to Wikipedia, I am standing near the top of that snow-topped jagged mountain you see on the left on the Pacific Crest Trail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Butte_(Oregon).
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Love the line, “rough is the sculpture of these old children”
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Really amazing
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Wow awesome..!!
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I was there with you as I read your words. I miss that part of Oregon, in particular.
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Wonderful photographs and word images to go with them.
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A beautifully captured moment in nature. Nicely, sweetly done.
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Very cool.
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