Spring is in the air and with this new season comes a sense of hope. It’s this feeling of hope that brought illustrator Phil and poet Hanna Robinson together. Both inspired by the snowdrop flower and the wonders of the natural world. Hanna, looking for a visual to accompany her poem, came across Phil’s painting of snowdrops and felt that it spoke to her. With isolation becoming part of our daily lives it’s wonderful to see that Phil’s art and Hanna’s poem connected them through ideas of growth and resiliency, themes that are often present in Phil’s work.
Take a quiet moment to enjoy Phil’s paintings and Hanna’s poem.
The Snow Drop
by Hanna Robinson
The first sign of spring.
The season of new beginnings.
Small work of art against the brittle brown earth
thawed just enough to free this flower
petite and demure
from its near frozen grip.
Oh what wonder
to the ants and earthworms hustling
underneath its resilient, bell shaped head.
Like looking up inside the Sistine Chapel.
There is another side to every story.
Like a vulnerable child
head heavy with shoulders slouched.
I gingerly lift its tucked chin
revealing the tightly clustered interior flower
it’s hidden face
wondrous like my child’s eyes.
I see through sadness
through the outer protective blade shaped petals.
I see hope and the spirals of spring
milky white, tipped in Kelly green.
It will be ok my darling.
Hang your head
nestle into my chest
protected from winters final frost
by the blade of my shoulder.
View more of Phil’s illustration. Represented by i2i Art Inc.