the qualities of light and space

martin johnson heade newburyport meadows

i give you the whole

the inestimable scale

of yourself

and ask you to compare it

with the largest space

in your experience

perhaps

the expanse of a water meadow

the vast fullness of a hay field

the improbable and unlikely

details of even one moment

of your living

would flood and overwhelm these spaces

in less time than

you will take to read these words

so dance on the experiencing

of this moment

this pregnant expansion

of your seeming insignificance

into the greatest gift the universe has to bestow

on itself

which is

always has been

and forever will be

the gift of you

martin johnson heade hayfields a clear day