Study In Umber Poem by Suzanne Hayasaki

Honey slinks down the side of a glass
Stickily clinging to its smooth, curved surface.
A few thick, near-black strokes at its base
Give me a sense of its density and weight.

White bread and milk.
Where's the pizzazz?
Where is the sea green of an avocado
With its wrinkled aubergine skin?

And yet, this, too, holds my gaze.
One drop of honey flecked with white.
The matte of peanut butter
Intermingled with the sunny honey.

There is alchemy in his pallet.
There is illusion in each stroke of his brush.
But there is also something of Newton
In his observation of light.

Art is not easy.
It is no pastime.
It is both science and fancy.
It is more calling than craft.

Perhaps now in this time of stillness
When we must all stay in place
Some of us may discover or pursue
Talents and longings we have long suppressed
In our unresting searches for material success.