“tis distance lends enchantment to the view, and robes the mountain in its azure hue”
– thomas campbell (scottish poet)
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lake michigan, empire, michigan, usa – june 2021
grand circus park, detroit, michigan, usa – 1920s
—
walking in the beautiful snowfall yesterday, it was clear some things never change, even after 100 years
—
“snow was falling, so much like stars filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine its reason for being was nothing more than prettiness.”
-mary oliver
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photo credit: historic detroit
Beneath The Sweater And The Skin
How many years of beauty do I have left?
she asks me.
How many more do you want?
Here. Here is 34. Here is 50.
When you are 80 years old
and your beauty rises in ways
your cells cannot even imagine now
and your wild bones grow luminous and ripe,
having carried the weight
of a passionate life.
When your hair is aflame
with winter
and you have decades of
learning and leaving and loving
sewn into
the corners of your eyes
and your children come home
to find their own history
in your face.
When you know what it feels like to fail
ferociously
and have gained the
capacity
to rise and rise and rise again.
When you can make your tea
on a quiet and ridiculously lonely afternoon
and still have a song in your heart
Queen owl wings beating
beneath the cotton of your sweater.
Because your beauty began there
beneath the sweater and the skin,
remember?
This is when I will take you
into my arms and coo
YOU BRAVE AND GLORIOUS THING
you’ve come so far..
I see you.
Your beauty is breathtaking.
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Credits: Author: Jeannette Encinias, Studio Yuki Photography, Thank you Russ Thomas