For the Ladies ~ Telephoto Tuesday!

"A Graceful Exit"

1/2500 @ F/8, ISO 250, 200mm fl, 55-200mm nikkor zoom VR, handheld, Colored Edges Filter in PSPx2

The Swan ~ by Mary Oliver

Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?

Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air -

An armful of white blossoms,

A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned

into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,

Biting the air with its black beak?

Did you hear it, fluting and whistling

A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall

Knifing down the black ledges?

And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds -

A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet

Like black leaves, its wings like the stretching light of the river?

And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?

And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?

And have you changed your life?

The image above was taken today, and I could not think of a more graceful way to thank all the women from my family, my friends, and fellow photographers that have been so encouraging to me as I stretch my wings in my photography journey, and in life period.

I couldn't do any of it without you ladies! Happy International Women's Day!