The yearling

Ever see that old Gregory Peck tear-jerker about the little kid and the fawn? Well, if you haven't, you can just look at these pictures and read about the young deer visiting our backyard in New Jersey -- not exactly the Everglades, not exactly high melodrama, but from the deer's perspective there was survival at stake. More on this intimate encounter, in words and images, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

The visitor

Like brushstrokes come to life,
the signal ravages of your fur
lift up and point
the way to food; here and there
they range about your mangy form
but only serve to show you plucky
and so much the pattern
for this time of year, for your kind --
nothing breaks your stride but
subtle noises (disliking disturbances)
and the need to feed placidly,
unguardedly, your deep tobacco eyes
lowered gently, your soft merlot nose
scenting -- nothing for once but peace
to feed at least for a moment, you dignitary
of the forest, daughter of the hinds,
a year in the world, in the woods.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Future perfect

It's almost Earth Day, everyone -- and we have lots of suggestions for things to do to get you in the proper spirit. What would the special day be without a trashless lunch or a nature treasure hunt? How about a picnic for the planet? These and more special ideas, along with gorgeous photos of fruit trees in bloom, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Song for Earth Day
(for Andrea and Elizabeth)

If only you could see
what I see in this little tree,
no one could be hearts away --
the world growing smaller
all the time, and people grown
to love it so much more.
This little tree reminds me
of the dimple in your knee,
of the flower behind your ear;
it compels me to compel you -- listen --
on this near-to-Earth Day --
think of all you still can do,
even before growing any taller --
there is so much you can do
to be worldly wise.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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What goes up...

Andrew and I take a sort-of involuntary break from our usual workdays and enter into the realm of painting projects (again) with the usual not-so-hilarious results. When is a black hole a lesson about the unpredictability of life? When you're on a deadline and the ceiling you are painting begins to cave in upon you. Words and images to help you laugh instead of running and hiding, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info -- keep clicking those ads, folks!

Private I-don't-know

Sometimes things,
they just be that way --
you get no explanation
from the hole that suddenly yawns
from the ceiling you roll,
or from your trouser pocket.
But any black hole gaping wide
the words "I don't know"
makes you pause, and in effect
takes the fullness from your day;
where order and meaning locked wills
to keep you wary, chaos sneaks in
and pokes a finger under your ribs.
You have to laugh --
it's that or run and hide.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Color of spring

The forsythia are in bloom here in upstate New York: a mild winter and some warm early spring weather have coaxed out the blooms, and everything is bursting with bright yellow and gold. Why is yellow the color of the season? A few thoughts and meditations, plus a shoutout to my birthday sister, Paula -- more, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Not just a drop in the bucket

Ever see those buckets and taps hanging off the trees this time of year, in upstate New York or Vermont? Yes, it's sugar-maple time, and the trick is to outsmart the early thaw that comes earlier every year as the maple trees experience the effects of climate change. More in words and images on the process of syrup salvage, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info

Maple time

The slightest bit of crunch
still on the ground
reminds us that when snow
coats maple -- oh
the delicious frost abounds;
children and creatures alike
know it well, but then
we have to wait for the silver taps
to tell of their fortunes,
their steady ping-ping echoing
from the drive -- the surety
of golden-pure sugar sap.
It seems that all the woodland
thrives and strives to hear
that sound, come the early
of the first sugar time,
the weather of March
and of our first prime --
it reminds us up and down,
the indelicacy of winter,
the gentleness of spring.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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You've got WHAT in a jar?

As fascinating as it may seem to look at ancient Egyptian artifacts like mummies and shawabtis and canopic jars, and to wonder about their provenance, I'll do you one better: we can also wonder about the mysteries of ebola virus and the unpredictability of the pain scale as we have come to know it, courtesy of a fellow blogger at hyperboleandahalf.blogspot. For more musings on life and death, go to blog.amynelsonhahn.info if you dare...

Figuratively

In a manner of speaking,
it would somehow seem
the little dummies won:
they conquered time,
and rendered themselves
indispensable,
perhaps even a little bit positive
this side of the divine and knowing.
How much dignitaries prize
their reputations over art;
they staked a heritage on the very
survival of art -- pure genius
left to the craftsmen,
left to the people
only to have followed
ever so closely
however figuratively.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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Father figure

A new exhibit at the Albany Institute of History and Art features images and heirlooms of our first President, George Washington, as he was depicted in popular culture over the last more than two-hundred years. We take a closer look, and examine the impact of Washington -- the man and the myth. More reflections, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info...keep clicking those ads, folks!

Washington -- at ease

To this very day,
your image creates us
as a nation, as a people;
you rose so tall,
one of the first gentlemen
among us, and fought the first best fight.
All these semblances surround us,
all these homages that merely aspire,
merely hope in some casting way
to pay an immortal debt --
a critical, monumental urging
we suffer to sting us at heart
when the cause of your careful sacrifice
presents itself to our understanding.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn

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