Sotto Voce

white on white
a snow-bound cottage
framed by bare trees
those elusive shadows hold
echoes of you and me

indigo
for the darker moments
when sunrise
is too far distant
for comfort

bold red to hold
an abstract canvas
in the eye—
the tricks we learn
to survive this life

a swirl
of ocean blue—
in the midst
of our turbulence,
the red flag of desire

colour and line
define our world—
we capture
one moment, and seek
to unlock eternity

an arc of blue
cuts this corner of canvas—
always the detail,
the sotto voce
that enthralls me

© Julie Thorndyke

12 July, 2015, Muse Gallery Cafe

First published in Ribbons 11(3) Fall 2105 p.53

Sadly, Muse Gallery and Cafe have closed their doors for the time being.Let’s hope that it won’t be a permanent decision. I enjoyed viewing the work of our local artists, and appreciated the impetus they provided for this tanka sequence.

A luminous painting in the gallery also prompted this tanka, that appeared in Gusts 22 Fall/Winter 2015 p.8:

pale leaves
dripping with light
the gentleness
of our first touch,
your fingers on my neck

© Julie Thorndyke