Interiors are slowly
folding in—where do they go?–
invisibly departing
with each new exhalation
of air, to be reflected
in the afternoon sun, held
light on the wing of a bird,
to travel with the rivers,
following liquid paths that
enjoin our lost ways to sing,
reaching beyond the other
side, to become vast, unmapped,
unlocated everywhere–
to be cast out, opening–
What is it we seek?–the stuff
that accumulates, broken,
unrepairable, layered
over landscapes unable
to breathe? or will we become
unclenched, holding nothing but
earth wrapped up in endless sky?
Frank at dVerse challenged us to write a 7 line poem with a positive feeling. I’m not sure this exactly meets the positive bar, but it’s headed more that way than a lot of what I’ve recently written. I also used 7 syllables in each line, which I seem to remember as a form I saw somewhere, although I can’t remember where.
This is also my offering, off prompt, for NaPoWriMo. Art inspired by Diebenkorn.
K. 
reflected
in the afternoon sun, held
light on the wing of a bird
The poem’s not only positive, this is positively beautiful ❤ And that artwork that goes with it! I needed this desperately today, it's lovely Kerfe!
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Thanjs Shuku. I hope you are feeling better.
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Ah yes, to emerge “unclenched”, wouldn’t/won’t that be a joy? Glaciers melting, rivers forging further inland, seaports sinking…and all that waiting for us to get after it post Covid-19
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Always the optimist…
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This makes me feel it’s going to be all right. And what beautiful art. The clarity and color.
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Thanks Claudia. I hope it will.
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I feel you weaving a spell and a vision of transformation. The question of holding on so tight is a good one. The idea of letting go is both exciting and scary. The first thing I thought of when I looked at your artwork was a great tree, but after reading, it looks like a great river.
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It looked like a tree to me when I painted it, but also seemed to become a river when I paired it with my words. Both have branches after all. Maybe a reminder to expand our vision too.
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I like the contrast you set up in the last stanza questioning what we seek, stuff or to become unclenched.
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Thanks Frank.
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You’ve cubed the magical number seven, Kerfe, with seven lines and seven syllables. I love the way you start with interiors slowly folding in and end with ‘earth wrapped up in endless sky’. The seven-syllable lines evoke the rise and fall of breathing. I particularly like:
‘each new exhalation
of air, to be reflected
in the afternoon sun, held
light on the wing of a bird’.
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Thanks Kim. Thank goodness for birds.
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“or will we become
unclenched, holding nothing but
earth wrapped up in endless sky?”…. lovely thought that
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Thanks!
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Lovely in so many ways. Unclenched and uncontracted, flowing like the gorgeous art here.
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Thanks Victoria.
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I enjoyed this, Kerfe.
Wings and water, gifts to remind us to appreciate what is waiting for us.
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You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone as Joni so wisely noted.
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To me the artwork looks like lungs with rivers of life breathing in it. May we all breathe easier in the days to come and the river of life flow within us.
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Thanjs, that is a good blessing.
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Beautiful reflecting and reflections and layers–birds’ wings and rivers–the stuff of life.
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thanks Merril–it is
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