Paint & Poetry: Fall 2026

Heeding Wordsworth
by Mike England

I sit in my chair, reading of art.
’Tis fascinating stuff, moreso than Descartes
Would admit; contained therein is truth
That I feel from my toes up to my tooth.

But even as I admire a Turner stream,
I imagine a ripple, a sunlit gleam
That is not there; it’s in my head—
The same as I see nightly in bed.

Up I am, down goes the book.
My mind is on the rushing brook.
Rod in hand, excitement in soul,
I hurry to my favorite fishing hole.

Vitamin D
by Tom Leuprecht

Snow’s on the mountaintop to stay
Colors of fall slowly fade away
Layers of snow set in icy rime
Leaves fall, shuffle, crunch time
Winds of change with might strip trees bare
Giver of quiet delight
Snow line creeps lower
Day’s light grows shorter
Hibernation in effect
Time for minds to reflect

In This Way
by Noah Davidson

In a sacred manner
I live
In the mountains
I find peace
In the valleys
I pray
In the highs and lows
I’m steady
In my song
I sing
In my time of wrong
I accept
In the good fight
I’m ready
In my life
I tried
In the dark
I see
In my time to die
I’m strong
In the winds
I am
In your heart
I stay
To the heavens
I gazed

Moon Over Montana
by Al Nyhart

I don’t know how many times
I’ve stood out there on the back porch,
howling at you.

I’ve lost track
of the nights I stayed up late
stealing your thunder,

when you weren’t looking,
when you weren’t spying
on me in the bathroom

flipping through the Dao De Jing,
when you were full of yourself,
compromising the other side.