SLEEPING IN THE FOREST
I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.
-Mary Oliver
Gladsome Lights 
I love Burchfield.
AMDG
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What an interesting painting!
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She really is the best, isn’t she?
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I’ve never heard of Burchfield, but what a marvelous painting. It evoked the work of the Canadian Group of Seven: I’m going to have to look for more of his work.
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Oh, how I love that Mary Oliver piece. Burchfield is new to me too, so thanks for introducing him.
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Beauty in the words and beauty for the eyes. Thank you!
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