JULIE ANN STEVENS

Summer is a special time to be aware.

A walk through a city park at the end of the day was the inspiration for this piece — another truth from nature about the beautiful shapes relationships can take.

The Spaces Between

like a ribbon unraveling

swirling overhead with a flourish

they write to me in the sky

what is the message? the meaning?

they disband and then land

separate, independent touch downs

quiet, barely perceptible movements

then again and at once

they soar wings tip to tip

and by the spaces they keep between them

a beautiful pattern is placed in the present

solids against a changing sky

a few clouds, shades of blue and grey

purples, and the orange hues of

endless sunrises and sunsets

in the background or the foreground

depending on how you look at it —

present in different ways at different times

but always —

birds of a feather.