leaves that fall
pairing: Tom Thomson: Potters Creek, Canoe Lake, 1916
Art today is from Tom Thomson (1877-1917), a prominent figure in Canadian art history, who inspired the also well-known ‘Group of Seven’ painters. He is best known for his many landscapes produced in Algonquin Park, Ontario. Canoe Lake, the location of the above piece, is where he died in a drowning accident.
at McDonald Creek
for my mother
once her ashes grace
the surface, pause
to lie strangely still
still upon the ripples
of dark waters
and their almost glow
dims as they settle
to rest upon
the pebbled bed—
once I have said the words
that mean goodbye
and heard from
her husband
her other son
words that mean goodbye—
I walk back
along the path
and notice
the clearings
the seedlings—
new trees with
leaves that fall
fall always
no matter the season
Painting and poetry attract as the ashes and leaves that fall both rest and remain remembrance of lost love but keep being replenished.
Brush and pen strokes, colors fuse with the sun. Many thanks for sharing artist Tom Thompson’s painting, I did not know and your poem.
Grieving is love, Alan. Thank you for this graceful poem. 🖤