Love

Title: “Love: Advent”, Part of the Tabiji Eggshell collection. “Tabiji” means “journey through” in Japanese.

Media: eggshell, acrylic paint, thread

Side view

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I am Charcoal 

Aftermath

of an airless inferno

no longer the tree

you knew yourself to be

gone are your leafy green arms

celebrating the sky

face to the sun

now fallen

charred

smoldering

one with the ground

for endless days

memories wander

grieving among the ruins

of what once was.

Love comes

seeking you

undeterred by destruction

strong hands extend

inviting yours.

You turn away

unable 

unwilling to see beyond sorrow

so changed you are

unrecognizable

altered completely

by fire

by suffocation.

Love waits

with heart open

till you are ready

softly singing

that endings are also beginnings

my beloved

One day

Someday

Maybe

you’ll take Love’s hands

step in to welcome

to embrace

be gathered up into a gentle dance

circling together

sweeping over wide stones

each slow turn 

drawing

creating

new lines

a new arc

of unseen wonder

of what will be.

…
Wendy Lew Toda

Inspired by loss, love, how tree charcoal is made and what it’s like to draw with charcoal itself.

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