I met this young lady and her dad in the grocery store and was happy they agreed she would model for me. I had this idea to pose her barefoot in snow in a light white dress. The problem was, I didn't have the dress. I scoured the internet for something just right and was frustrated. The photo shoot was already scheduled. The day before I found exactly what I was looking for in a Goodwill store. I posed her on the back patio and then subbed in the snowy background.
As I began to paint her, a phrase came to mind. "I dreamt I walked in a snowy wood." This would help make sense of why she would be dress this way in the snow. That phrase sounded to me like the first line of a poem. And then a second line came, and a third. I liked where this was going so I set down the brushes and picked up the only thing I had at hand to write on- the back of a large envelope. Words fell into place very quickly and a story emerged that enhanced the painting. in my opinion. So here it is and if you take the time to read it, I hope you enjoy it.
I Dreamt I Walked in a Snowy Wood
by Craig Pursley
I dreamt I walked in a snowy wood
with face turned down ’neath a furry hood
and as I walked , my breath in clouds
hung loose about, a veiled shroud
I’d gone far enough and turned to go
back toward home and fire’s glow
But then I heard a distant sound
that stopped me fast on frozen ground
A young girl’s voice serene and sweet
a siren’s call for tired feet
I followed sound not knowing time
through maple, birch and sugar pine
Trees bent low in a clearing wide
and far across the other side
this young girl stood still lost in song
which drew me near and all along
I thought aloud, "Can she be real?"
or just a vision thus revealed
Was she real or fevered dream
my mind unsure or so it seemed
Her eyes aside in distant stare
as breezes tossed her raven hair
Perhaps a girl of fifteen years
with face devoid of hope or fear
From her lips no vapor flowed
and yet her lovely face just glowed
Her lacy dress as white as snow
and tied about her waist, a bow
In ice and snow her feet were bare
and yet she didn’t seem to care
She felt no cold, no stirring breeze
no chill amidst the winter freeze
Her gentle face so soft and sweet,
lost in reverie complete
Of my approach she seemed unaware
or if she was, seemed not to care
The song she sang was so surreal
in painful words that somehow healed
My life laid bare and there revealed
The things I’d done and thought concealed
The rights, the wrongs, all things I’d done
the good, the bad to everyone
I began to feel that I should go
retrace the steps I’d laid in snow
I felt her warmth and yet I knew
I must go home and live renewed
But as I turned, she looked at me
into my heart she seemed to see
Her shoulders sagged, her eyes grew sad
I questioned why she felt so bad
She whispered in a voice that cracked
“I’m sorry, sir. You can’t go back.”