If You Can Wait for It

The inspiration was a stunning view of Sleeping Bear Dunes in the distance on a cloudy day after kayaking on the Platte River to Lake Michigan. The light struck just right to show a certain shade of turquoise under dark, blue-gray skies.?
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So much beauty, and I was taken with the legend of the mother bear that comprises the dunes, as well as the cubs, who are the islands in the distance. ?
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Somehow, the myth went with the Lucille Clifton poem "water sign woman" that also inspired the painting. Embedded under the paint, and partially visible in some areas, are Clifton's words, handwritten by me and worked into the paper (apologies to Clifton for not including the entire poem, but these words struck hardest--that said, I hope if you've read this far, you will take the initiative to look it up and read all of it, for it's well worth doing so):?
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"they say to the feel things woman?
that little she dreams is possible,?
that there is only so much ?
joy to go around, only so much ?
water ... she has ?
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to forget to remember the edge?
of the sea they say, to forget?
how to swim to the edge, she has?
to forget how to feel....?
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water will come again?
if you can wait for it."