Summer – Poem and Painting

When I decided to try painting a few months ago, it was with a vision to somehow create companion images for some of my poems. I’ve posted this poem before, but this time I’ve also included my companion abstract painting. This is my first attempt at painting a poem. 18×24 acrylic on canvas.

Summer

The sea shells scraped the bucket
as we walked slowly from the shore.
The shock of the burning sand

quickened our pace, and we skipped
on tiptoes to escape the pain in our feet.
At some point we turned and ran

back into the ocean where it seems
we have waited hours for the sun
to spill its fire into the surging sea.

after

i once walked
through graves,
tracing names
on tombstones
faded from sight.
i imagined
bones in boxes,
separated from
their souls, left
to wait for some
kind of return –
to ash? to dust?
or is there only
the shedding
of skin so spirits
can finally soar
somewhere
among the stars?