Charm #70

image: 1 ⅛” diameter, charm: 1 ¾” x 1 ¼” x ⅛”

2019

metal charm, colored pencil, acrylic, gold leaf, ink

This was one of a group of three charms that incorporated birds, such as this ruby-throated hummingbird. A crow and a scarlet tanager were also featured (neither pictured here). The gold leafed ribbons, in a repoussé technique, represented falling manna from the heavens. A poem was written in three sextets, called “Meadow,” and I’ve excerpted the final sextet here. “A ruby-throated hummingbird darted out before these two. / To him, the manna was honeysuckle, sweet as morning dew. / Surely, payment in-kind for his brilliance, he’d jest: / His iridescent red gullet and opalescent green crest. / In six seconds’ time, leaving with the tanager’s arrival, / He would miss the luminous, glowing dark, thinking he had no rival.”