seeing it through the shade
I turn over, not time, not my time
those who have been up
since first light
hum internally over coffee
I envy those who can pass up on sleep
imagine how much more gets done
are healthier and wiser and all that
or are they up at dawn to gleam
on what might be the face of God
the time to wake is preconditioned
in all of us a precise hour
though circumstance forces its hand
I prize sleep, good sleep over all else
without it I am in a state asking
should I be looking for the face of God
in other ways before me
PROSTRATE SPURGE

Prostrate Spurge © 2022 Kristin Maija Peterson. Watercolor and archival ink.
You probably have one of these growing in the cracks of your driveway right now. They are low growing, spreading their reddish pink arms out everywhere. They happen to be a member of the Euphorbiaceae plant family, the very same family that gives us the Poinsettia. When I looked closely at this one growing in my driveway, I could see the tiny flowers that look very much like the tiny flowers found on a Poinsettia. (Those red leaves are just that, showy leaves and not the plant’s flower).
Thanks to the Prostate Spurge for it has inspired the above poem How Can I Pull You, the above illustration as well as inspiration for a series of plant-based prints. I have a bit of “clean up” to do with the above illustration before it is print-worthy and retail-ready. Stay tuned at Terra Kind Studio. (This is where the art happens).