I love Monhegan Island. It is about my favorite spot in the world. I go there to paint and be renewed. I wrote a poem while in a deep longing for the island. I was lucky enough to have it published in The Poet's Corner, which is a book and blog of poems from Monhegan. Here is mine.....
Falling down into a dream of Monhegan
The woman is painting her door red.
A boy tells a dog his name.
Me, I go dragging my paints
Down gravely paths
Seeking to record memories
That I have not yet made.
The whale sings songs full of longing.
A world begs forget the gold sun.
Me, I go dancing my feet
Through sunlit Cathedral
Seeking the softly green radiance
That I have not yet forgotten.
The man rows a boat old and wooden.
A feather rides blue speckled foam.
Me, I eye with hands shading
Across grey pebbled beaches
Seeking to call up an image
That I have not yet set down.
The island sways in blue rhythm.
The red heart beats back in time.
The island sways in blue rhythm.
The ocean sighs in white rime
I am dreaming of the island.
I am calling out a name.
“Monhegan,“
I hear me whisper.
I am dancing cross the ocean.
My heartbeat this sweet refrain.
“Monhegan,“
I hear me say.
The brush drags a shape on the paper.
A paint drop forms life on the page.
Me, I pass through like others
Returning again and a day
Seeking to transcribe beauty
In colors I have yet to create.
- Deborah Cavenaugh