Snow is falling from the night
sky, like dust escaping from
a nebula above, leaving
all Etretat covered
paper-white, from
the farmer’s land to
the wide pale-pearled horizon.
The old long roof and
the boundary wall’s slate
stones bear the layered weight.
Early morning light
will tickle the trees’ skeletal branches,
and noon will see blue-grey shadows
stretch across the ground.
A small, solitary magpie perches on the gate,
alert to what the day has offered—
as if there is no need
to fill the air with worry or chatter.
The Magpie by Claude Monet Oil on Canvas, 35in X 51 in
Musee d’Orsay 1868-1869
Painted during the winter near the commune of Etretat near Normandy.
Leslie Anne Bustard takes great joy in loving people and places, whether at church, around her kitchen table, in a classroom, or traveling around. She delights in words, and marvels at the beauty found in the details of ordinary life. Reading, writing, teaching literature, baking, producing high school theater, and museum-ing are some of Leslie’s favorite things. Leslie is the host of The Square Halo, a podcast for Square Halo Books and is developing a book titled Wild Things and Castles in the Sky: A Guide to the Best Children’s Books. She and her husband Ned have been married for 30 years and live in a century-old row house in Lancaster City, where they raised their three daughters.
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A Field Guide to Cultivating ~ Essentials to Cultivating a Whole Life, Rooted in Christ, and Flourishing in Fellowship
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I love this poem Leslie. Lovely economy and so evocative.