to set in stone–
the whiteness of marble
polished, glowing,
rendered with light
an image meant to be immortal
plundered and abused
by the movements
of men and time—
faceless and unlimbed now
the imperfection of decay–
reassembling beginnings
over shadows
of the end
Merril is the host for the dVerse quadrille, using the word “set”. I drew this Greek sculpture torso a while ago, and added some watercolor on top of the drawing. What remains of the original figure has its own beauty.
K. 
The first thing I see is a deteriorating torso in your drawing/watercolor. I see a torso shaped poem that is a feminist declaration of emancipation. ❤
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Thanks Jade. I like your vision!
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🙂
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Nice work! It really is sad when someone thinks they should deface a work of art simply because they think differently. Love your poem.
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Thanks. Yes, the world has lost too much art to politics.
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Disassembledge as an artform perhaps Kerfe?
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Thanks Rob, sometimes it is.
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Another great poem, Kerfe. The last stanza is excellent.
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Thanks Robbie. Drawing often takes my thoughts to where they might not otherwise have gone.
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I wonder if this one had the Victorian fig leaf treatment?
Greek sculptures (of nude male bodies) always make me think the sculptor and the commissioner were more interested in the portrayal of perfection than humanity.
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They were definitely seeking an ideal. Flaws are always more interesting to me.
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Yes, it’s hard to judge beauty if it’s perfect. The slight flaw or asymmetry draws attention to it.
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You captured the shimmer of marble in the first stanza, Kerfe, and my attention – it took me back to Florence. I like how the twist is introduced in the first isolated line ‘an image meant to be immortal’, and then the perfect image is destroyed, ‘plundered and abused’. It made me think about all the faceless, unlimbed statues I’ve seen, and wonder about how they must have looked when they were first created. I love the lines:
‘reassembling beginnings
over shadows
of the end’.
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Thanks Kim. I remember the sculptures of Italy…I even have a sketch book from my visit 40 years ago somewhere (now I’ll have to look for it). I do think the imprint of what was remains on what is.
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This is such a thought-provoking poem, Kerfe. “An image meant to be immortal” and “the imperfection of decay”–it’s sad to see art plundered or destroyed art (whether on purpose or accidental), but I like the idea that it still endures. It makes me think of Ozymandias.
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Thanks Merril. I can see the connection. What remains has its own form, but sometimes our eyes can’t see it, only what is no longer there.
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Yes, that is true.
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I’m always seeing faces, but I definitely see two faces left and center, at or below the chest. I believe they’re musing over the public’s opinion of the body as a whole and how it has affected the art over the years.
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Nice description: “the imperfection of decay–”
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Thanks Frank.
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Oh, that’s a solid poem you’ve carved. It manages to be about impermanence and permanence at the same time. You of course get extra credit for the painting.
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Thanks D. I love drawing and should get back to doing more of it.
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