Hare on a Hill - when art and words meet on a hillside...

As I walk, at times I am so moved by nature that words, chased by images, tumble into my mind vying for a place on paper. Sometimes, they wait quietly but there are times the voice is so powerful that it will only soften when I listen and record. At the end of April, whilst walking at dusk along a tree lined cattle way in East Devon’s Otter Valley, nature spoke loudly. There was a moment when the air shifted and secret senses came into play.

A hare running up-hill towards a carousel of trees and sharp horizon line came into view. For some this may be an everyday experience but for me, in spite of decades of immersion in nature, this was only my third sighting of one. Watching and marvelling, I remained still for a long while after it left my sightline. As I stood, I could feel the poem ‘Hare’ write itself. Entwined with words, carved lines creating a print started to find themselves in my mind. I feel joy as I see these creations emerge- a memory and marker in time made.

Hare

The hill-field lay still, resting in evening light

Sea-breeze whispering across stubble covered earth

Movement so slight, almost unseen

A drum beat of darkness

Ears tall, tapered

Legs powering rhythmically along furrowed land

Scaling the landscape

Stillness as it slows, at one with its surroundings

An invisible shroud

Sharp horizon dividing land and sky

Watching and waiting for a perfect silhouette framed by last light

A magical moment captured in the camera of our mind

Now only horizon and memory remain.

Hare - Lino Print

If you also love hares and would be interested in buying one of these limited edition prints, to remind you of nature’s joy, then please contact me by email.

My work can be viewed in the Seaglass Gallery, Lympstone, Devon ,UK www.seaglassgallery.co.uk