an un-understood event

a sharp, agile mind,  oil on canvas. 10" x 8"

*****

hmmm, the deaf-mute painter, walked all day with his satchel full of stones. on this day he had to navigate through a creek, a swamp, quick sand and a bear den that he had fallen into while gazing upward, holding his face skyward to the sun light.  on this day, hmmm was tired, exhausted, full of lamentation. his normally sharp, agile mind was slumbering, his steps sluggardly, noticeably downtempo from days past. on this day, hmmm arrived at the begending of his sojourn. that moment was arrived at when he passed through a clearing at the edge of a forest, where a precipice, a sheer rock cliff was overlooking a fertile pasture: clear, illuminated, full of history. on this day, hmmm sat down with his satchel of stones and witnessed a sight that glorified the preciousness of that land, a sight that caressed the the enigma of his own journey: a lone figure, russet haired and cloaked in black, praying in the meadow, with hands both delicate and strong, with a gaze both focused and full of reverie, with an activity both precise and mysterious. a figure, classifying and categorizing, constructing and balancing, was making intimate assemblages, perfect little mounds of stones.
for a moment, a long moment, an eternal moment, hmmm stopped breathing and was immaculately still.




*****