Local Color
this planet, this single illimitable organism
he is damariscotta, the place of many fish,
the estuary where fresh and saltwater meet
and life begins. he is the protester
on the bridge above the river
on a frigid midwinter morning, toes and fingers numb,
standing up for democracy with others.
he is the local bridge troll, stepping into each protester’s
space and face to agitate and provoke. he is the energy
beneath the bridge, the place where 30 billion gallons
of water move through the river during each cycle of tide.
he is agitation, the colliding tidal forces
that provoke froth and foam, current
and confrontation. he is the bald eagle,
the huge, dark shape known to the abenaki
as the carrier of prayers, perched in stillness on the branch
of a grand shore-hugging pine. he is the volitant corvid,
cawing for compatriots to pack a coal-black attack
on this white-capped living symbol of freedom.
he is the abenaki citizen, whose life is communal,
consensually decided, who lives in kinship with animals,
in stewardship of the land, in support of his neighbor.
he belongs exactly here, exactly now.
—dotty seiter
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9 x 12″; ink and watercolor pencil on paper
Let’s Face It With Friends series
2026
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Notes About Poem and Art
• “this planet” grew from a confluence of deep connections felt recently on a particular morning in Lincoln County, Maine, as I came face to face with the interaction of a host of natural systems in play on this earth we inhabit.
• The Friends Who Talk provides yet another bit of local color that’s part of the huge infinitely-complex organism that is life on this planet.
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The town meeting at which I noticed a group of talkative friends:
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10 responses to “Local Color”
What a beautiful poem! So strong in it’s meaning and sentiments! This phrase is especially beautiful “ he is the bald eagle,
the huge, dark shape known to the abenaki
as the carrier of prayers, perched in stillness on the branch
of a grand shore-hugging pine“. I hope is prayers will be answered!There are days that I don’t know what to pray for! There is so much one can learn from the indigenous people!
You are truly a master of finding people in your neurographic drawings! I hope that the meeting made good decisions!
Carol, thank you for your feedback here. I’m grateful for any and all commentary as I find my way in self-expression through poetry. So much to learn! I appreciate your isolating a few lines of “this planet” as being especially beautiful to you.
Isn’t it crazy how many people are alive and well in a neurographic drawing?!! More than one escaped notice for days and days before I caught sight of them!
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I’m speechless. Your poem is so powerful….he does belong! If only we all could live in harmony with one another and be stewards of the land.
And your Friends who talk before a town hall is just fabulous….and I love seeing the original drawing. They just tickle me down to my toes…and can actually hear them chatting!
MaryAnn, thank you for your reflections about poem and Friends! “this planet” surprised me a bit in the way that it acted as somewhat of a camera snapshot, capturing what was in the viewfinder, good bad or ugly. I had only the tiniest bit of a starting point, and then it took in a bigger picture, so to speak.
Then, the Friends! They have tickled me, too. Come to think of it, they were a surprise also. I set out with the notion of doing a series of faces, but had no starting idea whatsoever that the series would be faces embedded in neurographic drawings. I take pleasure in knowing how much pleasure they’ve brought you!
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Lola, this poem kinda grabbed me by the collar in the making, but in a quietly insistent way, just took a firm hold and wouldn’t let go. Thanks for highlighting the contemporary/timeless balance.
My neurographic friends/community—gotta love ’em! They’ve been keeping me good company. Fun to see the “before” drawing, yes??!
Thank you, Sheila! Your popping up here a few weeks after my posting gives me the gift of revisiting this poem which has stuck to my ribs : )
