October 2022

The autumnal equinox has come and gone; and last week the heavens opened at long last - a harbinger, we hope, for this spanking new October. Water, the true elixir of life, alters us all - from the parched pond to fall’s un-greening leaves. May it continue to flow.

Pond Alchemy

by Linda Hoffman

sheets of angled rain

pierce the pond

water meets water

lily pads

host their guests

a frog and beads of water

attentive to water

a blue heron

waits —

the wise say,

‘the way of water

is to flow’

a black cormorant

grasps a snag

winging water droplets

tree swallows

pluck insects

splash of water

the wise teach,

‘water never

harms water’

weaving threads

of iridescent water

dragonflies hover.

Linda Hoffman’s artwork includes bronze sculpture, outdoor installations, watercolors, and digital prints. She is the fruit grower at Old Frog Pond Farm and the author of the memoir, The Artist and the Orchard, from Loom Press.