DANCE AROUND A FALLEN TREE

View Through a Fallen Trunk - c 2017 Lynda Lehmann

DANCE AROUND A FALLEN TREE

Dance around a fallen tree 

like me, like me.

I’m in and out of the fallen tree

but all around her 

roots will sprout

and later spread in boughs replete

with leaves and shade and 

energy

reverberating out

to where sky, earth and water meet.

And this is where I want to be.

At One, at One,

with the fallen tree.

Lynda Lehmann c 2018

In Silence Lies Beauty: Gesture and Lace in a Snowy Forest

Gesture and Lace - Image c 2011 Lynda Lehmann

Hermann Melville said, "God’s one and only voice is silence."  Somehow I agree.  It's only in moments of silence that we can even begin to grasp the magnitude of the beauty all around us and the profound miracle of every day.


A snow-shrouded forest is a great place to experience the joy and fullness of silence.  Why is silence full?  Because silence allows us the space to let go of conscious thoughts, goals, and all the usual preoccupations that we carry around with us from day to day.  Silence gives us a moment of pause in which we may become aware of our own Being.  In silence, we own ourselves; we own the moment.  Silence lets us "be," if Being is what we want.
Silence asks nothing of us but to befriend her.  Silence will not ask us to defend ourselves.  Silence is forgiving.  She is a balm to our souls.  
Silence is not Golden, but she is buoyant, transparent and transforming.  Listen to Silence if you want to find your Heart.
I was astounded with the beauty of the forest on this bone-chilling day when I walked with my husband at a nearby state park. The landscape was frozen and rigid in the vice-grip of winter.  Yet the trees maintained their winding and undulating forms, held on to their grace under the assault of bitter cold and high winds.  Because the temperature has been so low this week, little melting has taken place, even on the blacktop that usually warms in the midday sun.  

Snow Berries - Image c 2011 Lynda Lehmann

There was so much to see in this transformed land of delicate lace-work and graceful forms: the rolling hills, the frosted berries and dancing trees.  The contrast of bright white snow clinging to twigs, trunks and branches against a background of afternoon shadows, really brought out the beauty of the arbor.  When we left I was again replete again with nature's beauty, though my toes were nearly frozen.
I love silence.  But I know some folks find silence tedious or even frightening.  Do you look forward to moments of silence or do you find yourself avoiding it?

Together in Beauty - Image c 2011 Lynda Lehmann

All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my primary site at http://www.lyndalehmann.com/gallery if you would like to see my acrylic paintings and more of my photography and digital art. I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog!

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Wishing You A Clear Path...

Wishing you a clear path,
the courage of conviction,
sureness of your own integrity...
and still waters.

Wishing you wonders of the forest 
in dazzling light 
and nature's solace when you need it.

Wishing blessings for you and your loved ones
at holiday time and always....
Wishing you Peace.



Happy Holidays and Peace to All.

All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my primary art site at http://www.lyndalehmann.com/gallery if you would like to see my acrylic paintings and more of my photography and digital art.  I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog!

In Every Inch, a World...

Texture Play - Image c Lynda Lehmann

The wild woody plexus knows
its own emergence
and certain of the sun,
wills itself to life.

Wrinkled welter of the arbor
yields to efflorescent splendor,
and springs forth in joyful verdure
to grasp the azure sky.

****

In the tangle of the thicket,
intimations of Everything...
and in every inch, a World.

- Poems c Lynda Lehmann




Bark Abstracts c Lynda Lehmann

(Note to my dear blogging friends: Any and all constructive criticisms of these two little poems are invited and will be gratefully accepted. What would you change? Which words would you leave out? Would you change the line breaks?)

HAPPY SPRING, EVERYBODY!

All images and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Moon Lakes and Night Voices

Moon Lake - c Lynda Lehmann

i cannot sleep.

a pale shroud has overtaken the darkened world
and shadows quiver in rhythm of moonlight.

released by luster of illumination,
voices rise from deep recesses of mind and forest

where dreams and creatures meet
to share mystery.

their discourse rises on sleek silver strands, to the night wind.

life force has the wisdom to know its own sustenance,
the Life Force whose glow burns brighter in its knowing.

voices merge--chirps and squawks, calls and whispers--
melding past and future, history and infinity
to tell of their knowing.

and i know that their knowing is so much greater than mine.

i cannot sleep.

i drink as well, from the vast cup of silence,
the silky intervals of chastened night
that channels the voices...

those murmurs of God and Infinity that
all at once
calm and discomfort my soul.

i cannot sleep.

i must not sleep.

--Lynda Lehmann c 2009

All art and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

The River Wakens

Morning on the River - c 2009 Lynda Lehmann

River stirs to morning light.

She yawns, and stretches--sleek silver-blue--

past distant field and copse.

Though smoothly, she quickens,

unfolds to light,

flowing past verdant hills and tawny ledges,

in glimmering contentment.

In the Shade of the Far Bank - c 2009 Lynda Lehmann

Text and images c 2009 Lynda Lehmann. Please visit me at www.lyndalehmann.com if you would like to see more of my photos, digital art, and abstract expressionist paintings.

The Yin and Yang of Water: Light and Shadow, Spray and Stone

Fluctuating Trunks

Spray and Stone

Amber

Shimmering Pool

Composition in Water and Stone

Taking It In

Water Pebbles

Wild Water, Sacred Stone

To me, metaphors like "The Tree of Life" or "The Perennial Stream" refer to God, to all of Creation, The One, the Universe, ALL, however you want to say it. It's the same thing: the generative power/miracle at the core of Life, that allows us to BE, as individuals and in diversity and relationship, connected to the larger scheme.

I see in all of nature (humankind included) the principle of differentiation and diversity, yet needing to, at the same time, stay aligned and empathic with The Whole.

A river flows downstream from the mountain above, as a singular, dynamic entity. But all its rhythms and patterns change as it turns, trickles, charges, and eddies over the changing terrain. As it is with the blowing leaves and the boughs on the trees.

We lose our personal power if we try to live it in a vacuum, isolated or unmindful of The Whole. Just as we lose our personal power if we attempt to guard or hoard it. We must interact, in concert with the larger truths of LIFE beyond our personal subjectivity.

I dedicate this post to all my blogging friends and especially to Max, because our discussions inspire me. You can read about paradox and duality, or Yin and Yang, at Wikipedia.

All text and images c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Thoughts on The Tree of Life

Tree of Life - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Witness the great tree: the overarching Tree of Life.

It spreads and reaches....
soaking in light from above
to nurture the growth
of all its branches.

We are like the twigs,
works-in-progress growing,
turning, striving, streaming
and
bifurcating from branches
larger than we.

We are each rooted in
humanity, as each branch
springs from the tree.

But on a tree,
divergent branches although separate,
do not turn on themselves,
nor on others.
Nor do they ridicule those
weaker tentacles whose growth
does not rival their own.

Because they remember
being tender shoots
themselves,
barely differentiated from the flesh
of the great trunk,

they know their origin,
respect it,
and are humbled.

Mindful, they know their attachment
to something greater:
a force that nurtures them while still
enlisting them to provide.

There are no outcasts among branches.

Nor scorn for angling off
in a different direction.
For each twig and branch
sees its own way
towards the light.

****

The branch reaches far
yet gives thanks for its base,
its connection to
the larger tree.

No branch stands
on a pinnacle
to proclaim its sovereignty.
Lording not, over others.

Nor does it claim
more than its share
of root's nourishment
or succor of light.

A single branch
is gangly, awkward, lost...
unrelated...
yet a tree brims

with the hope
of all levels of life
reaching
for more of itself.

A branch splintered
from The Whole,
loses stability, sustenance, meaning.

Embedded in its cells,
the code,
calling for contribution
but not conformity...

to evolve in concert with The Whole.

We have much to learn
from mingled branches
that together stand proud, as
the Tree of Life.

A World of Their Own - Image c Lynda Lehmann

MY BLOGGING FRIENDS: Just a note to tell you that this will most likely be my last post for a week or two, because of other projects I have to attend to. Everything is fine; I'm just busy.

I WILL however, visit your sites and comment, and respond to your comments here. Any constructive criticism on the poem is most welcome! And I'll be back to post as soon as I can. Love and peace to you....

Journey - Image c Lynda Lehmann

All images and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Sea Foam and Stones

Sand Furrows with Stones

Wet Rocks at Water's Edge

Washed Up

At Rest Within the Streaming Tide

Foam

Sea winds whipping
water to foam,
refresh my soul.

Bright pebbles, steadfast
through time's turbulence,
teach patience.

Rugged beach, wild with
brine, bird and breeze,
renews me.

****

Images and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Sky Blue Universe

View From the Jetty on a Pristine Day -c 2008 Lynda Lehmann

Sky Blue Universe

sunlight bends to grasp and hold
far regions bound to earth.
horizon ties heaven, land, and sea,
the universe-continuum
whose color is the sky.

waters, skies, pass days to nights.
boulders massive, algae slight
bind all to One
grand cycle, play, and song,
transforming dark to light.

- Text and image c Lynda Lehmann 2008


Image c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind.

Ethereal

"Ethereal" Image c Lynda Lehmann

Petals clasp sweet sunlit air.

Roots reach deep to suckle Grace.

Graceful tulip drinks her love, grateful for

dear Earth's embrace.

Poem c 2008 Lynda Lehmann

Serendipity was finding this majestic tulip in my garden, upon returning home from a walk. I ran to get my camera and caught it just a minute before shade enveloped it, swallowing all the gorgeous highlights. Only a day later, this beautiful bloom was past its glory. But what a glorious flower it was! The photo is from last year, but since we're not having much in the way of blooming here yet, except for crocuses and hyacinths, I'm posting it to celebrate spring. It's the perfect time to find renewal in both nature and in ourselves. I hope you enjoy my photo and poem and I wish you a happy, healthy, and creative spring!

Text and photo c Lynda Lehmann. "Ethereal" is available for purchase at Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or you can buy it framed at Imagekind.

Light Through Time

Time will not wait, but takes its toll.

Boughs break, rivers thin

and bend their banks,

our faces fade and line.

Seasons change with paradigms,

our knowledge never sure.

Yet sunlight melds through ages past

while seas still lick the shore.

Stories spill

in textured light,

paint peals past eon's

weather and woe,

while we seek answers

not attained.

So time's impassive

march must go.

Image and text c 2008 Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

Thank you, Blogging Friends, for reading my poem. Though I know little of writing poetry, I'm attempting to compose pieces that relate to my images and at the same time have some meaning. I hope they will resonate on a tiny note of truth for my readers. I welcome your feedback and discussion!

A Prayer for One Humanity

MATRIX

by Lynda Lehmann

We are not strangers, walking on separate shores.

We are not strangers, toiling at tasks not akin.

We are not strangers, flowing from different founts.

We are not strangers, flailing weary against tempest's din.

We are not strangers, tossed on disparate streams.
We are not strangers, crossed by whim of dissimilar fates.
We are not strangers, called by night winds unmingled.
We are not strangers, molding edifice from unmixed clays.

We are not strangers, flinging stones into monolith waters.
We are not strangers, adrift in remote galaxies.

We are not strangers, wandering lands not primevally bound.
We are not strangers, sailing different-hued seas.

We are not strangers, plucking seed from alien pools.

We are not strangers, repelled, in polar descent.

We are not strangers,

pretentious, autonomous fools!

We are not strangers,

traversing Infinity's frame.

We are Cosmic Dust, crowned with stars,

One Silver Light....

warmed by the same Amber Flame.

Wishing everyone joy and peace at holiday time and always. We are One Humanity. See you in 2008!

The above image is "The Storm Breaks." Poem and image c Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

Thoughts Brought on by Snowfall

I was looking for quotes from Romantic and Transcendental poets tonight, to go with my post of these snow photos, when the thought occurred to me to write my own. I had fun doing it, and I hope that in spite of my inexperience as a poet, these thoughts will resonate with you on some level.

*****

We are the matrix, Essence of One, whose face we know but look not on, enough to countervail our strife. It's men who fashion war from life.





Fluffy whiteness wraps the world, in expectation fresh and new--even as every sign of life, is covered by the winter's dew.




Made equal by the blowing drifts, all objects claimed by nature's shroud, fall back to states of innocence, wherein the world by winter's grasp, becomes a clean slate, waiting, new....

*****

Impartial sky shakes flakes of white, as minds shed hazy, unformed thoughts, into the pale, impartial night.

*****

Children flourish in the play, the snow has brought into their day. Seeing hills and trees and sky with eyes that shine with wondering "why?"





Quiescent places, frozen yes, but ready to spring at life's behest--to action, bloom, fresh hue, and scent. Life spins emergent, not yet spent.

*****

All images and text c 2007 by Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.


The above photos, top to bottom, are "Matrix," "Winterbloom," "Drifts and Shadows," and "Shadow Reach," and are available for purchase at www.lyndalehmann.com .