Yellow My World

The clouds disappear

There is a wet luster
On the leaves
after the rain

We are together again
Creating plans
Embracing the sun
Riding down the trail

Birds sing, flowers bloom
butterflies dance
I am alive
With intoxicating oxygen

Astonishing amazement
Just looking at the clouds
Reflected in the waters
Watching fish below the surface
Lily pads all around me

I paint Ian, the backwoods hippy poet

I paint the colors of his eyes

Green brown and gold with

A sparkle of laughter and love

Enchantment is my religion

I am excited by the green colors of the forest,

the shades of blue in the sea,

the crimson red in the rocks.

Yellow my world

Green me up

Brown me gold

Paint my eyes

The color of the sky

Paint my face 

The color of my race

Time is running

Fast against my body

So I paint while
I can
While the image is aglow

--Poem, photography and artworks by Michael Hooper, summer 2019