Heron

HERON BY DAN BEAM, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 30” X 40”

THE LIMINAL MOMENT

(Liminal…threshold, in-between, transitional)

I am Heron,

Cloud white and strong,

Trim in form and magnificent in reach.

The earth gives me necessary nurturance

But the sky gives me

 A me like no other.

When I feel the invisible air hold me aloft

And invite me to slide along its undulations,

To maneuver its fat forward rolls

And its gentle downward releases,

When I create my elegant art

High in the blue expanse,

I know why I am here.

But the sky is not where I begin.

I am earth bound, like so many others.

The difference lies in that liminal moment of choice,

Between the abstracted urge to escape the dark weight of the earth

And the great reach for elegance.

In that moment, unhesitant, I fully commit

To leave the solid support of earth

And let my feet lose their secure stand,

And pull with all of my strength into a world of unseen avenues.

Why do others never make this choice?

Why do they limit themselves to stumbling about

When they can create grace?

Perhaps the threshold is too frightening to them.

Or perhaps they never imagine another world.

Or perhaps they doubt the invisible support.

I don’t know their reasons.

I can only soar above, cloud white and strong.

—by Dan Beam