I am an unabashed fan of Joni Mitchell. I have been since the first time I heard her, many, many (could it be 50?) years ago. Her melodies are beautiful, her voice and delivery are beautiful, but her words, her lyrics, are poetry. For me, hers is the kind of poetry that paints mental pictures. When I first heard her song, Chelsea Morning, I saw it — the bowl of oranges, the open window with the traffic down below, and the sun pouring in like butterscotch…

“Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning, and the first thing that I knew
There was milk and toast and honey and a bowl of oranges, too
And the sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses
Oh, won’t you stay
We’ll put on the day
And we’ll talk in present tenses”

It is song that speaks of the beauty of life, of love, of happiness found in the ordinary and in good companionship; of taste and smell and sight and the joy of being alive. It makes me happy and it brings back memories of friends and places and other times. I am old, the song is old, but when I hear it I am 21 again. Of course it would be my inspiration for this challenge.

“The Sun Poured in Like Butterscotch”

Terry Grant

14″ x 20″