“Fly”
“Fly”
Quiet looks us in the eye
cupping our faces in loving hands
gently insisting rest
enfolding us in stillness
humming peace and comfort
despite all that swirls and shouts
her protection draped around
shoulders weary
minds rattled
hearts torn asunder
gathering us in
giving us wings
as the ship goes down
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Inspiration for the poem:
A quiet morning looking at the trees outside, the day before my father’s burial at sea. I found myself reflecting on the many other losses all around me as well.
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About the image:
Title: “Jump”
Medium: Paper, thread, watercolor, acrylic paint.
Size: 8.5”x11”
“Jump” was created as part of my Expressive Arts Coach certification process. We were invited to express our answer to these questions: “Who am I when I am expressing my full potential?”, “What is the calling for my potential?”- and to express our answers through movement and image-making. Creative inquiry through movement, to put it another way.
I pictured my movement like this: up on a high mountain, on my toes, leaning forward, arms out and slightly back, then leaping - and flying.
Then we expressed that movement visually, using any art materials. Each wing has 5 feathers/fingers, like a hand. The wings rise up out of a 2D piece of paper to become 3D, so there is a sense of threshold - of moving from one dimension to the next, a rising up out of flatness and colorlessness into dimensionality. They are painted with pale blues and greens, symbolizing nourishment (blue/water), healing and growth (green), with the sacred (gold) present in surprising, dynamic ways. The gold thread charts a straight and true flight path forward.
This is what I offer to the world on my wings of art, poetry, and the experiences I create (workshops, coaching).
There is also a playful joy in the process - I can reach through from underneath and make the wings flap up and down. :)
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Interested in being coached with Expressive Arts? Let’s talk.
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Image and poetry: ©2025 Wendy Lew Toda