Summer Rhythms
See Them
see them now,
she paints in her studio or writes at her desk,
he works in his garden.
at intervals,
with no awareness of the other,
each steps back,
squints to take in the overall effect.
she adds a brush stroke here, selects a different word there,
he plants a seed, prunes overgrowth, pulls weeds.
see them now,
every summer evening a seaside picnic,
feeding each other stories from the day,
every summer evening, bellies full,
a passeggiata in a location
never explored by them before,
familiar ritual, unfamiliar place,
intersection in a shared space
of discovery.
sometimes they stop,
squint,
take in the overall effect, and,
each with full awareness of the other,
kiss.
—dotty seiter
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3 x 3″; watercolor and pencil on paper
card #23 in a series of color swatches
2025
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Notes about poem and painting:
• “Parallel” came together from scraps fallen on the cutting room floor, so to speak. While working on a different poem, I realized I’d been unwittingly trying to make too many pieces fit into a poem that couldn’t hold them all. As in my studio when I paint, when I write I also save all scraps and bits of incomplete work, never knowing when they might fit somewhere new; today these particular bits of writing found their place.
• Born under the zodiac sign of Taurus, an earth sign, I am pulled to earth tones. Naptime‘s muted neutrals soothe me as these columbine plants subdue themselves at season’s end, dropping seeds to overwinter.
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10 responses to “Summer Rhythms”
MaryAnn, love that you encapsulated this poem using the words “parallel play and intimate togetherness.” I had to bite my metaphorical tongue many times so as to SHOW those very concepts rather than name them!!! For sure, I now know I communicated my message : )
I have SO enjoyed having mother nature as my collaborator in this series. Again, you have got to the heart of my creative expression!
Thank you!
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I am so smitten by your love story playing out in this poems and watercolor pieces. Naptime feels like the perfect segue into fall and its earthy groundedness.
As creative humans we all try to fit too many pieces into one thing, to the detriment of that thing, yes? Your post is perfection – reducing everything down to the elements needed and nothing more. So impactful and a lesson for me to take to heart. Love it!
As you no doubt know from your own painting and writing, we often express ourselves creatively to tell or teach ourselves what we most need to know. I am forever trying to cram “too much” in—I was grateful to catch myself this time, then write about having done so, which then in turn let you reflect it all back to me, which is precisely what I need! THANK YOU!
Naptime felt like an apt segue into fall and its earty groundedness to me as well; hence its title!
Love the images created by your words. Love the walking in new places. Exploring. I like to do that when I drive. Take a different road and see where it gets me. And if I have to turn around, I still have learned something new. LOL.
I love the bits of wonderful green with the warm neutrals. The sparkle of white. The shapes and shadows. Beautiful post Dotty!
Sheila, thank you for your kind words. Love that you, too, like walking in new places and following different roads from usual to see what you discover and learn.
I appreciate your feedback on the visual language of this color swatches card, your taking note of the green with the neutrals, the sparkle of white, the shapes and shadows. It’s fun for me to go back to this piece now to revisit the details : )
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