The Recollection of Dreams
In the picture,
when the music dream-splashes color
and light,
like sea waves against rocks—
we hear storms and whispers
in the red and blue,
feel heartache and love–
and if you must see the sorrow,
also recall the luscious scent of rose gardens
the taste of honey on your lips, a kiss.
My poem from the Oracle. The tile said fiddle, but the image of this Redon painting was in my head, not Chagall.
Day 30 inspired by all three works. This is the final day of the month-long challenge. This is a san san.
Rainbow Dreams
A rainbow in my dreams–
cantaloupe sky, pink quartz beach, and light-drenched trees
dripping green, gold, blue. Here birds stop to perch
on chromatic rocks. Yet nothing remains as it seems–
shadows come, even within dreams, my mind sees
but also alters. Gulls become robins whose birdsong brings
dawn-light to forest—now, color-spray the birch
with rainbow stripes and feathers. In dreams, my heart sings.
Thank you to Paul Brookes for hosting this April Ekphrastic Challenge. It has been a wonderful experience. You can see the art and read the other responses by going to Paul’s site here.
The artists are Gaynor Kane, John Phandal Law, and Anjum Wasim Dar. Thank you for your wonderful and inspiring art! I’m giving them a round of applause–and also one for the other poets! 👏
For the penultimate day of the challenge:
Inspired by AWD, “Oxygen”
Oxygen
From the dark, soupy universe
light emerged, the afterglow of explosion
blue-shifted here
to our primeval oceans
where microbes gobbled oxygen
and cyanobacteria sent some into the air
through photosynthesis,
generating life.
And from there, flowers bloomed,
and then came fruit,
and us, and love, and art—
microscopic particles recycled, torn apart
in the process of (re)creating space and hearts.
I am once again participating in Paul Brookes’ April Ekphrastic Challenge. Each day, I will post my poem(s) here. You can see the art and read the other responses by going to Paul’s site here.
The artists are Gaynor Kane, John Phandal Law, and Anjum Wasim Dar. Thank you for your wonderful and inspiring art!
Falling Stars
The child presses her face against the window glass,
watches as the sun sinks into the sea
and the first stars appear in the sky.
She makes a wish as one streaks, burns, and falls
vanishing like her neighbors.
(“Poor things,” her mother had said
when she saw their yellow stars.)
She wonders if they will send her a postcard
from wherever they are,
and if she can change her wish–
to see them again,
the doctor with the kind eyes
and his playful daughters with their flowing-wheat hair.
The child, older now,
presses her face against a now-cracked window,
watches the stars in a clear sky,
the bombs silenced,
she hears wind-murmurs
of hope returned and dreams remembered
bittersweet, like chocolate she ate—before.
She sees in streams of starlight
a vision sowed in sparkling silver waves,
and hopes her long-ago wish
will take root and grow.
I was writing something else, and the memory of painting above just popped into my head. One doesn’t ignore those things. I went looking for it in my posts and found a poem I had written several years ago. I’ve revised it slightly. Today is Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), sundown 27 April to sundown 28 April. The current war in Ukraine and the rise of authoritarian governments everywhere, makes this seem particularly timely. In one of the horrible ironies of this time, Jews, including Holocaust survivors, have fled Ukraine to seek refuge in Berlin.
Sharing this with Open Link Night on dVerse.
Inspired by AWD, “Politics”
The Result
With alligator smiles
they dazzled, dangling
the promise of freedom
on the tips of their sharp teeth
but the monstrous jaws snapped,
cities, trees, people fell
fertilizing the ground with blood–
no flowers bloomed,
no bird sang at dawn,
only death awakened this spring,
I am once again participating in Paul Brookes’ April Ekphrastic Challenge. Each day, I will post my poem(s) here. You can see the art and read the other responses by going to Paul’s site here.
The artists are Gaynor Kane, John Phandal Law, and Anjum Wasim Dar. Thank you for your wonderful and inspiring art!
Day 27, inspired by all three images
Turnings
The poet in the attic room,
frayed cuffs rolled, sits at the desk
by the open window–
aware of the cliché—
the garret room, drafty in winter
yet not without charm now
as the scent of sweet pea
from the garden drifts and wanders–
a memory circling
like the Ferris wheel at the fair,
straining to reach the top.
I am once again participating in Paul Brookes’ April Ekphrastic Challenge. Each day, I will post my poem(s) here. You can see the art and read the other responses by going to Paul’s site here.
The artists are Gaynor Kane, John Phandal Law, and Anjum Wasim Dar. Thank you for your wonderful and inspiring art!
Inspired by all three images for today.
Catch It
The beauty of a summer rose
is obvious,
less so, the stark winter landscape
of skeleton trees and washed-out sky–
but there–if you look closely–
my cat is beautiful to me,
your pet pig to you–
love doesn’t make us blind,
it makes us see
the lines on a face are roads
on a map
a life-journey—
traveled through places real and imagined,
in monochrome minutes or bright-hued hours,
like a pink bow bobbing in a sea of grey,
a life-preserver tossed to you—catch it.
I am once again participating in Paul Brookes’ April Ekphrastic Challenge. Each day, I will post my poem(s) here. You can see the art and read the other responses by going to Paul’s site here.
The artists are Gaynor Kane, John Phandal Law, and Anjum Wasim Dar. Thank you for your wonderful and inspiring art!
Inspired by GK25 Wolf and Witness Tree
Rooted
Sometimes you can feel the air–
a wolf growl, a howl at the moon—
faint, like a pencil sketch,
but there
it takes hold
rooted, like a tree bearing witness
to your soul.
Inspired by all three images for today.
The Journey
You sail the endless grey ocean,
a monochrome vista, the sea of despair
surrounds you
the color of the grey wolf
that sheltered under the ancient tree
while you sat above, a young boy
hugged by its strong branches
and rocked gently by the wind
until awakened by dawn’s pulsating light
as now—
your ship illuminated in the canary yellow glow
flies into the peacock blue sky.
I am once again participating in Paul Brookes’ April Ekphrastic Challenge. Each day, I will post my poem(s) here. You can see the art and read the other responses by going to Paul’s site here.
The artists are Gaynor Kane, John Phandal Law, and Anjum Wasim Dar. Thank you for your wonderful and inspiring art!
Inspired by AWD24, Anjum Wasim Dar’s, “Pencil City”
Life Drawings
If we could outline our lives,
pencil-draw and illustrate,
pastel the years, crayon over tears,
erase mistakes, re-trace–
archive the drawings with a note,
highlight this place, add a quote
from that time–
remember
the bright beauty, the blues, greens, and pink
tattooed in indelible ink, shaded, but well-defined
rolled, tied with a ribbon,
filed in my mind.
I am once again participating in Paul Brookes’ April Ekphrastic Challenge. Each day, I will post my poem(s) here. You can see the art and read the other responses by going to Paul’s site here.
The artists are Gaynor Kane, John Phandal Law, and Anjum Wasim Dar. Thank you for your wonderful and inspiring art!
Inspired by all three images for today.
Casandra
No one listens,
none believe
my auguries, the dreams
in crystal, upside-down
temples, cities, walls atilt,
a second away from tumbling
into the sea
They toast from the precipice
at sunset, the sky blood-red
and the wine,
spilled–
I tremble, a cup plunges into the sea–
the fish swim on unconcerned–
I see their eyes, their eyes
meet mine
eyes on eyes
as I fall
in a vision.
But I am a woman, chattel,
a prize of war.
No one listens
I am once again participating in Paul Brookes’ April Ekphrastic Challenge. Each day, I will post my poem(s) here. You can see the art and read the other responses by going to Paul’s site here.
The artists are Gaynor Kane, John Phandal Law, and Anjum Wasim Dar. Thank you for your wonderful and inspiring art!
This is slightly revised, and I’m sharing it with dVerse Open Link Night with this recording.
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
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