Spring Shadows

Spring Shadows

8" x 8.5"

Ink

Shadows on my door,

Bobbing in and out.

Curves that show

That you are here,

Working in this space.

This time.

This place.

Making my flower bed

A much prettier place.

Don't ruin it with shouting,

Crude words that will hurt.

Keep smiling and laughing,

Be happy in your work.

Shadows are soft,

Fluid, and curving.

Darting in,

Pulling back.

Pushing brooms,

Scattering earth,

Placing rocks,

And tiny shoots.

Weeds, be gone!

We'll soon be seeing

The very loveliest of flowers.

All because of you.....

The Shadows.

It was one of those warm spring mornings when the place to be was outside, either doing something or just lying in a reclining chair in the sun. But here we were in a classroom. I worked at my desk, and students were absorbed in their projects. At least we had windows to look out of and a door that opened out onto a sidewalk and courtyard.

Birds nested under the eaves and that was something to watch as the days wore on, with everyone ready for school to end. Cloud formations, the changing light during the day, cars coming and going in the parking lot, and people passing by on the sidewalk, even birds with their antics on the grass drew attention.

I looked toward the open door, and watched the rhythmic shadows, writhing about on the white background. Distortion masked who the shadow belonged to. Low voices outside and an occasional youthful laugh combined with the sharp scraping and chopping of tools in the earth of the flowerbeds.

A student beautification project included planting flowers in the flower beds to replace the low shrubs that had frozen and died during one harsh winter cold spell a few years back.

As the shadows writhed and bobbed on the door, I did a quick gesture drawing to remember the day.

Soon, they moved on to another room and on down the sidewalk, their jobs finished. They would be back to give water to the new plants. But the shadows would not be there.

Later, I filled in my drawing with ink to make a silhouette, which is the way the shadows appeared. The words about the shadows on my door stuck in my head and I had to write them down .

I couldn't see the students without going to the door and looking outside, but I could watch their shadows while they worked. It almost seemed as if shadow figures were planting shadow flowers.

With the full moon, I probably should plant something. I've had some seeds for a few years, but I never can remember to plant them with the moon, as I've always heard that you should. I wonder if they will come up. With my lack of a green thumb, they probably will do very little, if I can remember to get those seeds out before the moon goes dark!

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