looking back over last month's photographs
seeking a photo-heart connection

 it's hard to select just one

i love

the delicate curves of tree branches

trees, silhouetted against the late afternoon sky

tiny young trees
surrounded
by sturdy big trees 
that have learned to survive the harsh winters 
 

big skies and wide open spaces

and winter's late afternoon light
 

but finally, I choose
this one

a photograph taken at my favourite late afternoon time,
in one of my favourite places
in this city that I love

the strong dark branches of the trees 
contrasting with the pure white snow
silhouetted against the milky blue sky
and the weak light of the late afternoon sun

it's a quiet time
wide open space
no others around

i can be
alone 
as i explore
and breathe in
the beauty of this place

late last night
walking to my bedroom
ready to sleep

all of a sudden,
i felt an urge 
a need
to create

to take out my paints
and splash them around
wildly
with abandon

and so,
instead of ignoring the urge,
instead of postponing with excuses and tomorrows and indecision,

i did it

i took out my paints
chose colours
spontaneously
the ones that called to me
wanting to be used

i chose my subject
it came to me at once
spontaneously

the bird in the park
who sat on my hand to eat bread crumbs

and so i began
loosely,
wildly,
randomly,
freely,
spontaneously,
confidently

sketching, 
scribbling, 
scraping,
splattering, 
swirling

and when I finished,
i began another
a wintry landscape
painted from the heart

and then another
and more

until finally, 
joyfully,
the muse was satisfied
and so was i

and i was free
to go to bed