Studio
A meditation on a view
There’s a studio built lovingly for an artist
perched on a hillside, next to a river,
overseen and befriended by a growing Sequoia giant.
This is my home for the night.
On the road to my own artistic reveal,
a special invitation to a wide view.
Before then, the rainstorm and the wettest of sounds
close in, piercing my dreams.
I gladly take my seat at sunrise,
raindrops slowing as the day gains pace.
The clouds will stay a bit longer and
save the promised mountain for another day.
A still river sweeps the wide view.
If I were close enough, its simplicity would break.
Everything looks still from somewhere.
The astronauts know this well.
The remaining lights of the city below
twinkle like fallen stars,
and the trees merge into themselves
until dawn illuminates their full show.
How magical that what we see
is always changing, and
each moment, a truly unique scene,
built only from what we can notice.
As the natural light expands,
and the town’s twinkles die down,
I realize that the quiet moments have passed,
and it’s time to move to the day ahead.
I shift from the wider view
and prepare to join the noise.
I gather what I need for my journey
and gently exit the studio of a dedicated mind.
Opening the door, I step into cool damp air,
the trees waiting patiently outside.
I close it behind me with a smile,
knowing I can return to this place anytime.
April 21st 2026. I visited my friend a few days ago in Portland on the way to a poetry-related retreat and had the opportunity to stay in her “Studio”. She and her husband always prepare their guests with the time of the sunrise and sunset as an invitation to join the wonderful view that is front and center of this place to stay. After watching the beginning of day, I wondered about the meaning of the word Studio and to my delight discovered that originally this word related to the quality of attention somewhere, not the physical room itself. It struck me that “studio” was something of a meditation and the invitation to a wide view always present.