the way through

after a painting

of the same name

by Jane Smith

in a house

of locked doors

she dips her brush

in green-gold light—

a forest beckons

I enter

through brushstrokes

like briars

the deepening canvas

of the heart

following

the echo of birdsong

inside us

we make our own way

through a pathless wood

Lynx  XXVIII: 2, June 2013