Reflections

These posts contain a mix of Joan’s original artwork and writings as well as pieces from others. Click on the link to view the full post and comments.

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  • Artwork: Queen Anne’s Lace
    Queen Anne's Lace
    Queen Anne’s Lace

    Detail from Joan’s last drawing

  • Poem: Do not stand…

    Do not stand at my grave and weep
    I am not there. I do not sleep.
    I am a thousand winds that blow.
    I am the diamond glints on snow.
    I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
    I am the gentle autumn rain.
    When you awaken in the morning’s hush
    I am the swift uplifting rush
    Of quiet birds in circled flight.
    I am the soft stars that shine at night.
    Do not stand at my grave and cry;
    I am not there. I did not die.

    by Mary Elizabeth Frye (1932)

  • Poem: Possession

    Possession

    Always that piece of paper that makes it official:
    The birth certificate,
    The death certificate,
    The marriage license,
    The bill of sale….
    As though nothing could happen without it.

    If you belong somewhere,
    That place belongs to you
    As surely as loving can make a child.

    That stretch of beach,
    Where I know the many faces of the tides
    At different seasons
    The way I know my lover’s moods,
    You say does not belong to me?

    The old house with slanting floors,
    Beneath the giant tulip trees,
    Musty in summers,
    In winters, filled with the scent of woodsmoke
    From its rough hearth,
    You say it isn’t mine?

    When all that left of me is papers,
    They’ll never know how rich I was!

    by Joan Freeman Williams (undated)