By: Karen O’Leary

A doe
samples lichen
draped bark of an ash tree.
She leaps into inner safety.
Weeds spill
over
the wooden stairs,
not seeing human spoils
in years. A lazy stream with small
icy
islands
winds by trees bent
to the right. Creative
students take easels then pull out
sketchbooks,
trying
to grasp the scene.
Each challenged to use it
as a start but not limited
by it.