Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.

The body a yellow brilliance and a head
Some orange color from a Chinese painting
dipped in sunset by the summer gods
who are also producing that twitchy shiver
in the cottonwoods, less wind than river,
where the bird you thought you saw
was, whether you believe what you thought
you saw or not, and then was not, had
absconded, leaving behind the emptiness
that hums a little in you now, and is not bad
or sad, and only just resembles awe or fear.
The bird is elsewhere now, and you are here.

This week, it’s time for the western tanager male to get the Field Guide treatment, and this beautifully crafted poem (2007) by Robert Hass is a natural complement. Moreover, if you substitute oaks and willows for cottonwoods, the poem perfectly describes my first western tanager sighting of this year. In early May, walking along Santa Rosa Creek, a brilliant flash of yellow in the canopy caught my eye. Looking up, I saw it again, now in a different place. I trained my binoculars on the area just in time to be dazzled by the tanager’s technicolor exuberance; illuminated in full sun, the bird peered down through a gap in the leaves and then – poof, “elsewhere.” The saturated colors of a breeding male western tanager usually make me think of citrus candy, but I adore Hass’ opening description: “dipped in sunset.”

Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).

Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.