"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. `'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door - Only this, and nothing more.' Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore - For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore - Nameless here for evermore."

I remembered the opening of the poem "The Raven" by Poe. The speaker seemed so sure the tapping was just a visitor. The details connected to the poem include the raven perched in the tree and a limb that looks like a delicate woman's hand (LENORE!). The sky is a combination of neutral grey, blue opal glaze, and titanium white. I wanted it to feel cold. Afterall the poem is set in December. This makes me think of the calm before the storm, the raven before he makes that visit. I debated whether to include the roots of the tree and make it part of my Tree Series but I did to help enhance the mood.

"The Raven" is Poe's most memorable work and quite influential in 20th century culture (think Hitchcock's The Birds and The Simpson's Halloween Special with Bart as the raven). I read Poe in high school and college. He left quite an impression on me.