Poster Image
$20
Item#: 2013SYR10
Purchase Details
11x17-inches, printed on heavy weight (100-pound) Hammermill cover paper. We package each print with a piece of chipboard in a clear plastic sleeve.
You also receive…
An information page with photos of the artist and poet, and hand-written comments from each.
Medium- and large-format posters are available by custom order. Contact us for details.
Poem Inspiration Location
Roosting in Bare Trees
poster information
Description
Roosting in bare trees
Over Columbus Circle
The crows are black leaves.
I left the Civic Center after a late fall author's lecture. Apparently my husband had fallen asleep, because he was late picking me up. After the crowd dispersed, I thought I was all alone in the circle because there wasn't a sound in the moonlit night. Looking around, I noticed that the trees had already lost (what I thought was) almost all of their leaves. Then there was a loud noise. I'm not even sure what it was. The sound startled this incredibly large flock of black crows that had been roosting in the bare trees around the old library. Suddenly Columbus Circle came alive with the fluttering of black feathers. It reminded me that perhaps we are never truly alone. The haiku developed in my head with that momentary sensory experience.
I liked the imagery of the crows in the last line of the haiku. Since it was site-specific, I had to gather reference photos that included monuments in the area so I bought my camera downtown to Columbus Circle. When I arrived there were birds gathered at the fountain and homeless people sitting on benches. It was too early in the season for crows and bare trees, so I fabricated that part in the illustration. Once I had my idea ready, I went for the drawing in pen and ink and finished up with watercolor washes. I enjoyed researching for the project and going into the city. It was great to work with talented local writers and be given so much creative freedom with the illustration.