The Art of the Forest, by Susan Whelehan

Heart of the Forest, by Emily Carr (Canada) 1935

​The Art of the Forest

This pine is alive, in motion, imbued 
with emotions in each brush stroke 
thick with her theology of colour and connection, 
rhythm and reverence, abundance and benediction.
Picture her smiling as she brought it to life
grounding it in mahogany, sepia, bronze, 
then the tree itself - yellows and greens, teal, 
champagne all aquiver all boughs bending up, 
reaching, rejoicing, beseeching and blessing 
the sun whose rays render some of the needles 
almost translucent.
The trees in the background in shadow 
are swirling. The forest is dancing 
to the beat of its heart.
She heard it.
She saw it.
She danced.

Susan Whelehan

Susan Whelehan believes that rhythm and words are medicine covered by God’s Socialist Health Care Plan for Humanity. Her collection, The Sky Laughs at Borders, was published by Piquant Press in 2019. A runner-up in CBC’s Canada Writes, she has been published by Novalis, Knopf/Random House, The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star. A member of the League of Canadian Poets she facilitates writing workshops on-line, at the Haliburton School of the Arts, St. Michael’s College U of T Continuing Ed. and in her home in Toronto.