Waxing Poetic: The Painting Lesson, and a Prayer

The Painting Lesson, and a Prayer

Two women in hats,
feet solidly planted in the damp grass,
lean toward a canvas
propped against an easel.
One woman dabs intently with a brush,
the other looks out at the ocean,
then makes a staccato gesture--
here, here, and there--
with two fingers,
pointing to an outcropping of rock.
They consider the horizon,
then regard the painting in progress.
 

There is both lightness and gravity
in the way they work.


God of all
thank you
for the rough loveliness
of nature
and
for whatever it is--
spark, soul, or instinct--
that makes humans
want to make beauty
too.

Sarah Koops Vanderveen is a surf mom, writer, blogger and member of Redbud Writers Guild. She is the former editor of The Mars Hill Review, a literary journal focused on the intersection of faith and culture. She lives in Laguna Beach,Calf., with her husband and their two teenage sons. Read more by Sarah at her blog, "Once by the Pacific."