Hope is from the series When Wise Women Whisper - a collection of portraits of imagined women, whose wise whipers are caught as a poem.
 
11.5" x 16.25" Mixed media on watercolour paper (watercolour, pencil and pen)
 
Unframed, hinge mounted on off white matte board. International purchasers please contact me for shipping costs. Free delivery within Australia.
 
Hope's Whisper
She sits,
legs tucked up, like a child -
but no child is this woman.

She has seen pain,
felt the searing burn of betrayal,
the cold knock of sudden grief,
the cloudy fog of sorrow,
the bitter taste of self loathing -
oh, how familiar that taste is to her tongue.

She has watched hard days
bear down
with relentless heaviness.
She has endured,
then witnessed those hard days retreating,
beaten by her certain belief
that better days are coming.

She was never disappointed.
Better days did come,
Eventually.
Always on their own time,
but they arrived
nonetheless
and she embraced them,
delighted in their return.
She held joy in her arms,
kissed its sweet forehead,
watched it dancing in the sun,
laughed along with it.

She wraps her heart around adventure.
Invites curiosity into her mind.
She has broken bread with happiness,
drunk a toast with courage,
walked along quiet roads with peace.

Always ready to open her door to fear,
she keeps a fire going in her heart for hope.