Pastel 118 - Moon over Mountain Fields

From the first time I really listened I have been powerfully moved by the words to Simon and Garfunkel's "America." The vivid way it captures the changing moods of two people on a long bus trip, and the introverted confession of the final verse, stir me deeply. The music supports those words in ways I never tire of hearing. Particularly the very quiet section behind this:

"'Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat.'

'We smoked the last one an hour ago.'

So I looked at the scenery,

She read her magazine,

And the moon rose over an open field."

The last line, in particular, feels like the heart of the song.

When I drew this pastel, nearly three years ago, we were still lost in our fight with cancer, not knowing yet the good news we had shortly afterward.  And I was anticipating our annual trip to the mountains to put our lives back together.  And though I do not understand how all of these things align, I feel how deeply they do.