My friend Kerfe: mission accomplished!

what is it good for? (#9)

the
long and
short of war
is recorded
in absence—spattered
between the holes in the
skin of ordinary lives–
those empty spaces echoing
with unknowing, with what could have been

Day 30 of NaPoWriMo linked us to oddness for inspiration–I clicked on “Pieces of History” first and was immediately confronted with war, long and short.  There’s no escaping it, it seems.

When Nina and I first started our blog, I was doing mostly art, trying to make it a regular practice again.  One of the series I did then was called “what is it good for?”.  #8 was posted in 2014…and so it goes, the same question continues.  With #9, a nonet.

I want to thank the NaPoWriMo hosting site for connecting me to so many wonderful poets and pieces of writing, and for helping me actually do 30 poems for the first time.

And to Joan Mitchell, for inspiring every piece of art I made for NaPoWriMo.  The works that I used as references are below.

 

 

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”.

 

 

 

Postcard for Nina

Dear Friend,

I got lost in another dream. I was on the edge, searching for a map.  I fell onto the blue river of time.  The flowers growing together inside the stars cast me home with song, just like you do.

Love, Me

I started with “dear friend”, and the Oracle sent me a lovely message for Nina.  This blog, and my art and writing, would not be here without her encouragement and support.  Thank you my friend!

For NaPoWriMo Day 28.  Almost there…

Collage inspired by Joan Mitchell’s painting “Ici”.

 

Wheel of Fortune (X)

Wheel turning over like a key
opening fate and chance and time.
In all directions destiny–
still center scatters fortune blind.

Lost in all possibility–
searching the hands and face for signs.
Wheel turning over like a key
opening fate and chance and time.

Shadowed by what may never be–
turning into a circled line–
all paths will mirror and rewind
exposing doors no one can see–

Wheel turning over like a key.

Day 27 of NaPoWriMo asks us to look to the Tarot for inspiration.   I’ve done the Wheel of Fortune before, but one of my watercolors based on Joan Mitchell’s “Blue Tondo” was a perfect fit.

The poetic form I used is Rondel.

I Become Clichéd

My windows open me.
My windows cover, enclose, hide.

I am reflected, pushed inside by darkness.
I am reflected, merging outside into the landscape of the sun.

My windows are two-way mirrors.
My windows are tricks of the eye.

How can I exist in transparency?
How can I exist as glass?

My windows know both sides of the story.
My windows reverse me into particles of light.

for NaPoWriMo Day 26, inspired by Robert Okaji’s “Helinski“

and one of Joan Mitchell’s sunflower paintings

 

Calendars

ensorcelled by time–
repeating forms, I cross the
signs marking the gap,

the shift from circle to square–
caught on the edges of lines

I’ve used synonyms for Colleen’s words this week, enchant and shape, for my tanka for  NaPoWriMo Day 25.

The art, inspired by Joan Mitchell’s “Bonjour Julie”, is done on graph paper (at a recent exhibit of Josef Albers’ work I noted that he started with graph paper for some of his work as well).

This is the way I used to present my sweater designs…marker dots of the various colors to show the pattern.  I decided to cross stitch over this design, and I like the combination of texture and color on both front and back.  And, well, grids…

In the Wake

When I think
of you, I see you
floating, sails
unfurled in
iridescence like fish scales
or maybe crows’ wings,

dark and light
reflected in waves
traveling
unanchored
by time.  Will we meet again
on unmapped seas? or

as birds, hearts unveiled, trailing stars?

A elegy for both NaPoWriMo Day 24.  The first one I wrote was quite gloomy.  I took some of the images and began again.

I think the replacement was sent by the Oracle.  It has her mark.

 

 

 

Crossing the Line

My lines are
drawn, but I fail to
remember
convergence,
intersection, obliqueness.
Which side faces out?

I have stepped
between them, under
and over,
dropped, swallowed
and walked them. But where is the
point of no return?

For Day 23 of NaPoWriMo, we are playing with words.

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”.