Regina Calton Burchett – Drawings & Pastels

From bud to flower to seed

A soft and velvet yellow

in quiet enjoyment

stretching in the sun

Tenacity with the lightness of air

Perseverance against all adversaries

She believes in her own beauty.

New car.

First brand new ride in many years

cool and hot to the touch, all at once

The very essence of red.

Not a dark, brooding blue like you would expect,

but the tired, faded blend of sky and snow

after four months of winter.

It’s the grey-blue through the gap in the curtains

just moments before sunrise,

as you lie awake

trying to summon a reason to put your feet on the floor.

After the long days and desolate grays of winter

finally a shoot of green

springs

all at once, on the lawn, on a branch

a bright and insistent green

that won’t be ignored

Being gone, too long, from Texas skies

driving from the east to Austin, late on a December day

rewarded with a forever view across the plains and rooftops

remembering why Texas makes me feel free

That lovely feeling

of expectation, anticipation

of knowing something delicious

is just beyond the horizon, like an unopened gift