Lofty is the Station of Man

“Lofty is the station of man, were he to hold fast to righteousness and truth and to remain firm and steadfast in the Cause. In the eyes of the All-Merciful a true man appeareth even as a firmament; its sun and moon are his sight and hearing, and his shining and resplendent character its stars. His is the loftiest station, and his influence educateth the world of being.”
Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah

This watercolor painting was inspired by the above quote (look close and you can see the words in the rays of the sun)

And also a poem (any criticism is welcome, on the painting or the poem)

Reconnect

I forget how wide the world is,
Confined to narrow pathways,
Trapped in buildings I see everyday
Brick fences with corners at
Ninety-degree angles

Inner frustration which sits,
Stagnant water,
Distilled of hope

Or like an orange rotting,
Molding all over my heart

Until I feel a warm breeze,
Remember it blowing across
African savannahs and woods
That lay beyond the fence

Watching clouds backlit by a
Tawny moon
And illuminated by lightning

Thunder, distant and gentle,
Like the murmuring of lions

Animated
Feel the excited electrons before the storm,
I sit to paint
Putting colors back into my life
As I remember the texture of skin,
The reflections in eyes,
Or the patterns made by a hundred feathers
On a bird’s raised wing.

I reconnect
Negativity disintegrates,
Falling to the past
See it spiraling down the sink
As I dump the water
Spoiled by watercolor pigments