Blue Skies
BY
Douglas Hamm
A limited edition of five aerial photographs over Rockford, Illinois.
Dedicated to the memory of my pilot and friend, David Omer,
and the building of God's kingdom in Tonto Basin, Arizona.

            Here is the ditch of dead and hopeless water;
            No breeze can raise a ripple on it.
            Best to throw in it scraps of rusty iron and copper;
            Pour out in it all the refuse of meat and soup.

            Perhaps the copper will turn green like emeralds,
            Perhaps the rusty iron will assume the shape of peach blossoms;
            Let grass weave a layer of silky gauze
            And bacteria puff up patches of cloud and haze.

            So let the dead water ferment into green wine,
            Littered with floating pearls of white foam.
            Small pearls crackle aloud and become big perals,
            Only to be burst like gnats and to rob the vintage.

            So this ditch of hopeless dead water
            May boast a touch of brightness.
            If the toads cannot endure the deathly silence,
            The water may burst out singing.

            Here is a ditch of dead and hopeless water,
            A region where beauty can never stay.
            Better abandon it to evil--
            Then perhaps, some beauty will come of it.

            WEN I-TUO
            1899-1946

Please read each of the following articles and letters about Douglas Hamm's photographic portfolio.

        The Rockford Register Star                            Burpee Art Museum/Rockford Art Association 1