Jane Martin – Spirit

Artist Initiator: Jane Martin
Title: Spirit
Medium: Acrylic
NFS

Author Responder: Ophelia Turner
Title: The Secret of the Spirit Shrine
Price: $50

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All dragons have a heart in the forest

Nestled in a secret grove

Peppered with cherry blossom trees

And kiwi green grass 

Is the tangible coalescence of my spirit 

A shrine of blue and white and brown

Hidden in a valley bursting with flowers 

There is no path 

Except for haphazard stones 

Emerging from the grass 

Smoothed by the steps of soft shoed feet 

Over many years 

All dragons have an attendant 

During the afternoons 

A priest with a ready grin 

Sweeps the wooden floors 

And pushes open the shoji panel doors 

Letting in the sunlight 

And I swoop in like the breeze

Nuzzling the priest 

And the flowers he sets up for me 

He can’t see me 

But I ruffle his garments 

And rustle the flowers 

In a grateful benediction 

The chimes hanging from the roof 

Tinkling like laughter 

Rhythmic like a heartbeat 

As I breathe in my home 

All dragons need an anchor 

A place to return to when the weather is wild 

Or the stink and trash of humans 

Brings too much despair 

We were birthed from nature’s dreams  

And to our shrines we always return 

No matter how long we dance among the stars 

Or curl up in the craters of the silver moon 

Or wind around glistening rainbows 

We always return to our hidden valleys 

Triumphant and radiant 

Ready to bask in the sun 

And hum along 

To the beat of the ever-busy Earth 

 

Copyright © 2024 by Ophelia Turner