- Lonely Walk Home Poem by Ben Gieske

(painting by Dennis Sheehan)

As the sun silently slips behind a clump of trees,
saying goodbye to its day-long spent energy
and leaving twilight behind to watch for night,
pink, rosy and pale yellow hues trail in its wake.

a solitary figure trods homewards with measured steps
along a dirt-worn road blotched in ochre and oatmeal brown
her lantern hanging motionless flickers for attention
signaling the lateness of the day not yet armored
to fend off the night soon to come,

the day’s wandering breezes already nested
in the waist-high grasses of the fields,
withered and leaning in their maturity
completely oblivious to her passing.

Homeward she treads steadily with owed head
a black shawl tasseled with the accomplishments of the day’s chores
draped over her sagging shoulders and
opened at the next allowing
her red blouse heated by the warmth of her heart
to crest between the blackness of the cloth.

Only her white bonnet, like a beacon
scouring the open empty sea
seems to have not yet lost
its taste of the day’s sun
on this lonely walk home.

This was published online by Sketchbook, Sept/Oct,2009.

Poetry is only one of the arts. This is my attempt to fuse poetry with a painting and, hopefully, extend the appreciation of other artistic persons. For the actual painting and other paintings by Dennis Sheehan, go to
http: //www.artnet.comhttp: //www.poemhunter.com/poem/lonely-walk-home//artist/15427/dennis-sheehan.html
and look for “Evening Walk”. This same picture was labeled 'Lonely Walk Home' in 'American Art Collector' magazine, September 2009.