$20
Item#: 2018SYR07
11x17-inches, printed on heavy weight (100-pound) Hammermill cover paper. We package each print with a piece of chipboard in a clear plastic sleeve.
You also receive…
An information page with photos of the artist and poet, and hand-written comments from each.
Medium- and large-format posters are available by custom order. Contact us for details.
Blackbirds choose one day
when they prefer to wear white
to see how it feels
There were a few poems I wrote about the blackbirds, but for me this one represents one of the more overwhelming experiences I had coming to Syracuse. I would go pick my wife when she got out of work around dusk. I remember sitting in the parking lot and seeing a gathering of birds flying out of the edge of town into the trees within the city. I saw that incident at least a dozen times; blackbirds would come into Syracuse and settle in the trees for the night. I was overwhelmed by the community of the blackbirds themselves and how they treated each other. I thought it was an extraordinary example for human beings to follow. Blackbirds wearing white references each life finding comfort in a city beneath the wings of each other.
During the haiku selection process, I found myself drawn to ones that had clear visuals, a language that conveyed emotion, on which I could build upon. When I found the right one, I knew that I had to create the image that could show the feelings that I get while reading it.
As an illustrator, I pride myself on my use of color, a blend of hues that carry out the tones and feelings of the illustration. The strong image of birds changing color as the sky brightened was one of the images I received when reading the haiku—of birds transitioning at sunrise. Black to white, darkness to light. A harmonious moment frozen in time.