Patient
Be patient as the pines are patient
perching on the headland, staring over the sea
at the white sails.
The birds fly away,
the boats sail away,
the waves draw away and away and away
leaving the pines behind.
They lift their silent arms
and sigh.
Painting: Pines by the Sea, 1912 by Bertha Boynton Lum
Editor’s Note: This ekphrastic poem personifies the emotional impact of the painting with skillful repetition and spare lines.
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