Painter Prayer

She contemplates the Palisades,
while rendering its structure in mid grays and black;
the weathered cliffs, the new condos upon them built.

She pauses from the canvas,
an exercise which for her,
displacement of inner turmoil
through mind set changes.

The other end of the George Washington Bridge,
the opposite side of Hudson's discovery...
She imagines the ancient canyons neath the river's silt.

Take a break to light a pipe,
but don't delay to return to the Palisades
where she'll be emptied in the painting.
Be mindless, then, but be centered.

And here's the question:
Might the universe be a shell game -
its final mystery,
God's crossword puzzle?

She hears the report from the oven
of popcorn popping
microwavable.