offerings

these wells of wishes–
falling up into the air–
held by waves of light

For NaPoWriMo Day 29 and Sue Vincent’s photo prompt above.

Art inspired by Joan Mitchell’s “Grande Vallee”.

 

 

 

Two buildings

I started looking through my dad’s photographs. I had the idea to cut some of them up to use in artwork. I guess you could say this is my first collage at least in a while.

It’s a subtle difference but I painted in the white borders in black. I do that a lot. Black brings everything out to my eye.

I’m looking forward to seeing what else I might find in the photos. Keeping the ones with people, all others like landscapes of buildings are fair game.

Earth Day Tanka

I knew that the Oracle would have some words to give me for Earth Day.  She did not disappoint.

Rest you gentle world–
watch seasons breathe, wandering
through sun rain and night.

Follow darkness with long songs
spiriting—grow wild, complete.

I have to make a respectful disagreement with the NaPoWriMo Prompt for Day 22.  Physics (if you’re scientific) and the Spirit World (if you prefer that approach to life) have shown us that the impossible is always waiting for us just beyond our current state of awareness.

Happy Earth Day!  May we work together to find and nourish leaders who respect and honor our home and all of its inhabitants.

My monoprint sequence was inspired by Joan Mitchell’s painting “Another World Inside the Walls”.

Congregation

Trees
rimple-
faint curtains
tucked between sky
red roses weathered wood blueming wave song

When looking for synonyms for “gather” for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday prompt, I was immediately drawn to rimple.

I decided to try a Tetractys cinquain.

Off prompt but on time for NaPoWriMo Day 20.

 

on tides

to be weight
less, sparkling colors
in water
or air, caught
ungrounded and threaded with
invisible light

My post for Day 15 of NaPoWriMo–better late than never I guess (wordpress has not been cooperative this morning either)–is inspired by Sue Vincent’s photo prompt, above.  I went off the edge of the page for my response.

 

Tea with the Oracle

teacup spilling clouds
of moon fruit–
tendriled secrets
from rivers of flowers–
thick with the wild longing
of animal song wandering
through birdwind

 

Today for NaPoWriMo Day 14 we are dreaming–who better to consult than the Magnetic Oracle?

 

Home

The crows have followed. The blue jays.  The cardinals.  Voice calling to attention as footsteps sound toward and away from doors.  Penetrating closed windows and the background hum of the construction at the end of the block.  Dark shadows transforming into silhouettes on bare branches not yet convinced of the imminent arrival of spring.

Where is the hawk?

new streets and sidewalks–
winter lingering, chilling–
robin’s morning song

I recently moved 10 blocks north, a whole new blank slate to fill.

People think of cities as not-nature.  But the birds and trees tell me I’m home.

For NaPoWriMo Day 12 haibun prompt, and linked to dVerse prompt Urban Renewal.

31 xian (Seeking Union)

To open,
join opposites.
Receive what is given.
Let the unexpected pathway
unfold.

I’m off prompt again for Day 8 of NaPoWriMo.  This poem was inspired by Sue Vincent’s photo prompt, above, and I Ching 31, which appeared in the envelope collage I did based on a linear print by Joan Mitchell.

I read many interpretations of this hexagram, and tried to distill what I thought was its essential message.

Shelter encloses, but it opens, too.

 

Verging

For Day 7 of NaPoWriMo, Merril, in her post “Haunted”, reminded me to consult the Magnetic Oracle, as we often do of a Saturday.  I too was given windows.  We have many thresholds to cross these days it seems.

& may I
give you wild eternity?
windows of stars waking
amid dazzled trees–
breathing time open

The art was inspired by Joan Mitchell, and consists of several monoprints, cut into strips and woven, with collage over some of the squares.

 

 

Herding Cats

Got a blue blue car
in a black and white world,
Got that turquoise blue car
in a black and white world–
Gonna play it gonna drive it,
gonna give those tires a whirl.

Well a cat they likes to wander,
 likes to ramble likes to roam.
Both the he-cat and the she-cat
needs to ramble and to roam.
If you ask them where they goin’,
they say “everywhere’s my home”.

Do you wanna rock and roll now–
Do you wanna take a ride?
Do you wanna tune this engine,
come and take a little ride?
We can meet up at the crossroads–
enter leave from either side.

Well the road goes on forever–
I can’t say where I’ll be bound.
You can just keep on forever,
can’t predict where you’ll be found.
Here’s a car and there’s a highway–
a big ole world that’s circlin’ round.

Got a blue blue car
in a black and white world,
Got that azure sky blue car
in a black and white world—
got the key in the ignition,
gonna make that engine purrrrrrrrr…

 

This was my  (rejected, as usual) entry for Rattle’s Ekprastic challenge in February.  The poems that were chosen were good, but quite serious.  I found the photo to be much more playful…and did my own collage interpretation as well.

Am I back?  I’m kind-of-moved, but still mostly in chaos.  I’ve also got (paying) work pending, although they haven’t actually sent it to me yet.  I will do my best for NaPoWriMo, and try to catch up with everyone at some point this month.

And thanks to Nina for filling in so beautifully!