ARTIST Poem: Monarch Masterpiece Encountered II, by LuAnn Winkle

Drawn by hype I raced
to a planned encounter,
with a pony-tailed wayfarer,
who dragged a rake,
through virgin sand.

His native motifs,
scratched on low tide’s grainy canvas,
received no accolades,
drew no crowds,
just me.

The artist, indifferent,
I, disappointed and duped, retreat—
contemplating another gallery,
another day.

But, there!

Lithely swaying sea oat brushes
hold tiny droplets of orange pigment.

On wings of softest parchment,
droplets float silently from brush to brush,
barely touching the canvas,
like weightless ballerinas moving from partner to partner,
unbound by morning sky…
The monarchs fly!

One solitary artist
drew me to a chance encounter
in a random studio
nestled in the dunes.

And the masterpiece!