From the burning of just a few months,

Spring emerged,

Taking the nourishment left by painful flames,

Which seared my skin beyond recognition.

xxx

Now, a New Day emerges.

Surprising.

Full of Color.

xxx

Leaving some scars,

But engulfing my soul with hope.

Shield me from these blazing fields,

Where color leaps from iris to iris,

Brightening all in my life.

xxx

Showing the dullness in my monochrome thoughts.

I had never seen such a yellow,

Even out of the metal tube, from my first oil paints,

when I saw yellow for the most vivid time.

Until now.

xxx

For nothing can express the kiss of yellow,

Breathed lightly in the hills,

On a Southern California slope.

xxx

This color has only one source.

Limbago

The Story of Susanna and the Elders has many angles to it which are still relevant today. A person’s chastity and beauty become not revered or admired for what it is, but rather turned to into a commodity; where she is offered the options of disgracing herself by giving herself to these two lechers, or being condemned by their lies.

She choses truth, even though she knows there is no way out, at least that she can see. How often we feel the same, where truth is the least convenient path, often the one which only seems to lead to short term pain and suffering.

However, she takes the high road and is saved.

Painting by Franz Xavier Winterhalter