Florida, Framed

Inspired by paintings at the Harn Museum of Art in Gainesville, Florida

IAn unripened orange is concentrated on the wiry reflection, unspoiled.

Purity petrifies the ink-feathered bird returning to overcast brush.

Unshapely boscage, allured by liquid sun, is baited by beauty so perceptibly, but its intrigue spoils the lake’s margins with lineations of rot.

Planetary striations, deific and fiery, fill the fatiguing sky before it blends to meet the marsh in pigment.

“Golden Sunset” by George Inness

II

Peacock-feathered palm trees flaunt their headdresses, brushing ambiguous clouds unsure of whether to gather.

A coquina-bodied building regards an apatite tide, attentive.

Salt-dried shrubbery begets a golden coast marbled with verdant marshland, a quaint pond emulating the lookout’s pearly hue.

Coconut palms brace eastern winds, one’s stem arched like a figurehead decorating a ship’s bow. Sea oats sprawl along the coastline as foam-bearded waves caress the shore.

Gulls glide along gusts, wings widespread, toward angel-bodied clouds made ablaze by a budding sun. Ochre becomes dark slate as rain draws near.