[JustAmy]

When Earth's Last Picture Is Painted

When Earth's last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried,
When the oldest colours have faded, and the youngest critic has died,
We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it -- lie down for an aeon or two,
Till the Master of All Good Workmen shall put us to work anew.
And those that were good shall be happy; they shall sit in a golden chair;
They shall splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comets' hair.
They shall find real saints to draw from -- Magdalene, Peter, and Paul;
They shall work for an age at a sitting and never be tired at all!

And only The Master shall praise us, and only The Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame,
But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as They are!

~~ Rudyard Kipling ~~

[JustAmy]

October Trees

How innocent were these Trees, that in
Mist-green May, blown by a prospering breeze,
Stood garlanded and gay;
Who now in sundown glow
Of serious colour clad
umber, bronze, gold;
Pavilioning the land for one grown tired and old;
Elm, chestnut, aspen and pine, I am merged in you,
Who tell once more in tones of time, Your foliaged farewell.

Siegfried Sassoon

[b9]

And only The Master shall praise us, and only The Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame,
But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as They are!

Oh Amy, of all the poems you've posted, I like this one the best. I've been a commercial artist for quite awhile, and to be 'creative on demand' requires much "joy of the working."

Getting through deadlines and maintaining the same quality from start to finish (as in a book illustration project) is always a challenge. But Kipling must've understood that in spades because he was so prolific and had the perfect Model to draw from :o)

[Calpernia]

Morning to Potpourri!

[firewalk]

Good morning everybody

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody ! Happy Sunday !

Have a cup while you Freep !

[Victoria Delsoul]

Good morning everyone.

The Hourglass of Life

I'm mesmerized as I watch grains
of sand flow through the glass,
which regulates the pace by which
each minute speck will pass.

The crystals, like the seconds that
turn into month and year,
with time flow on, and then when gone,
forever disappear.

And then I'm shocked to realize
lost time will be no more,
for it cannot retrieve itself,
closed tightly is the door.

And I'm amazed that as it passed,
I was too blind to see
how better time might have been used
with less waste caused by me?

-- Shelby Forrest

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for the beautiful poem! I have a favorite Kipling which I may post later today.