Sunday Whirl…oh no, Sylvia Plath words…good thing I didn’t look first!
I copied the Whirl words from Brenda’s Saturday prompt from the Sunday Whirl FB page into a blank word document and didn’t look beyond the words. Good thing too because I would have known and been influenced by Lady Lazarus and would probably have written a more slash-your-wrists-by type of poem.
We all are a bit afraid of my slash-your-wrists-by poetry…come on…admit it. 🙂
charge, art, knocks, filaments, cell, sticky,
pearls, bone, linen, air, beware, skin, call
It’s all in here with the steamer trunks and canvases long covered with old linen and sticky, stale air.
You know it. This is the stuff you can feel. The stuff you understand.
Open a trunk and watch dust pinwheel thru the orange haze of a 30-watt bulb.
Close your eyes. There is life here.
A merciless call in every cell, every hair on your skin.
Take a chance. Lift away the linens. Look at it.
Once you believed that art would open a doorway to a beautiful world. A perfect world.
As it happened, you were watching yourself, studying your bone structure, staring at a full length mirror from across the room.
And your vision focused on reality.
Some place where disbelief and pearls of wisdom are two sides of a worthless coin.
And as you live knocking around in your tin-can armour while your passion withers away locked in those trunks, under that linen,
Beware of aging in that cold room where even God is chattering his teeth.
Breathe in. Feel the charge. Pull off the linen and exhale.
And look up in time to see the aged bulb flicker its last light and listen.
Just listen to the sound of the frail filaments tinkling in the clouded glass.
………….
Art: “Making the rounds” Mixed media on heavy Arches paper. (paper collage, pencils, pens, acrylics, chalk, nail polish, (yup, you can paint with nail polish if you want to) photographed with coins)
Sabra Bowers
Wow, just wow.
Veronica
Aww, Sabra, thank you so much. I love seeing your name in my comments. You make my day. 🙂
rarasaur
Amazing! Both the art and the poem– lovely, lovely! 🙂
Veronica
Thank you Rara. 🙂 You might like to try on a Sunday whirl for size to see how it fits. I know you’re a WordPress girl though. Looking forward to all your guests you have coming up. 🙂
thisgirlremembers
You bring that room to life so vividly that I feel it around me still. 🙂 Masterfully done!
Veronica
Hi tgr, could you tell me your name? I so love to know people’s names. (perfectly ok if you’d rather not) I read your “On Becoming” poem last night and loved it! But it was very late and I was too tired to write a comment. I’ll will head over now. 🙂
1sojournal
Thank you so much for this Veronica. The words and the image. The associative side of the brain function would have us living in that attic of memories more and more the older we get. Making art is always about going inside, leaning in to listen for what we have learned, but the feelings that accompany those memories can interfere with whatever art is being made. They can swamp us until that accumulated dust becomes quicksand. I love the image and the words you have put to that reality. And those last lines ring loud and true.
Elizabeth
http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/
Veronica
Thank you Elizabeth. I loved writing this poem and feel a bit guilty for not properly picking up my oils for a couple of months now. The more I read this poem the more I feel a need to get into the studio and get some work done. 🙂
Pamela
A vivid write that is life affirming. We can get lost in the attic of memories. Well done, Veronica. I love the collage as well.
Pamela
Veronica
Thank you so much Pamela. 🙂 I try to include a bit of art with each whirl but sometimes time is a factor and I can only manage a photograph. So the whirl is not only a great excuse to write my heart out, it’s also a great excuse to do a bit of art.
veronicabalfourpaul
Very atmospheric, and good advice. I liked the last line, listening to the frail filaments… memories can be creative.
Veronica
Thank you so much Veronica. 🙂 (Love our name)