We pretend
to own what we claim–
plant our flags
build fences
carry weapons in our hands–
exchange life for gold.
Do we think
we can circumscribe
the secrets
of the moon
with a padlock and a key?
We just keep falling
like black holes–
misunderstanding
reflected
light—the ebb
and flow of seas and seasons–
uncapturable.
Lillian at dVerse provided 4 images from artist Catrin Welz-Stein and asked us to choose one as ekphrastic inspiration. I chose the image below.
I’ve taken a few liberties with my interpretation. The collage box always has something to tell me.
K. 
Yes, the wondrous, magical things in life and the universe are beyond our control and uncapturable. We can witness, but not change or control them. They shine a light to help us remember that life is a miracle.
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They do, and it is. Thanks!
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Great poem. Love what you did with this prompt. … and this line in particular… misunderstanding
reflected light…
Dwight
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Thanks Dwight. The artwork is full of magic.
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It really is magical!
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Liked this “Do we think
we can circumscribe
the secrets
of the moon
with a padlock and a key?”
So good!
I take it visual reinterpretations your own work? The evolutionary developing image was a delightfully original interpretation. Really liked that you morphed both words and images into your own creative expression.
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Thanks Max. Yes, I reinterpreted the image with my own. I think all good art is subject to different ways of looking.
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“We pretend to own what we claim” is a pale imitation of what is real. The pretending by the pretenders is pretending a finger pointing at the moon is the moon. (paraphrase of a Chuang Tzu story) I love your poem with its radiating truth and how you interpreted the image with your collage. So good to have you back, Kerfe.
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Thanks Jade. While I admire the fact that we landed on the moon, I am very ambivalent about its repercussions. Planting an American flag to begin with. Corporations are already trying to buy mining rights. It seems we must divide and destroy everything we touch.
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I like how you have departed from the painting for this. The words say it all. I was troubled by the collabo swallow. No wild bird would be party to locking up the moon, but your metaphor of a bird seems not to be cooperating.
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Thanks Jane. I agree–the keyhole in the moon really bothered me, and no bird would be party to such a thing.
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One of the things I’m not keen in in surrealist art and its spin-offs. It’s so subjective, not an interpretation of what we can all see, or an idea we can all understand, it’s purely the representation of what’s going on in the artist’s head.
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I like the open-endedness, but I agree that our interpretation could be far from the artist’s intent.
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I think I simply don’t much like art that tells me, there’s a message in this and only smart people will understand it. I like allegory and allusion, but they are tied to accepted stories in our culture. With a lot of surreal and symbolist art, the message is put out by one person, and for me, it has the same effect as Masonic symbolism. You’re either in the club or you’re not.
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I never try to figure out what they mean. As an artist, I don’t care if people interpret what I do in any particular way. I just want them to think or feel something–what it is depends on them. Often I don’t know myself exactly what is going on.
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With your stuff I always have the impression that there is a lot going on. It has a life, that I might understand bits of. Maybe I should change perspective about the art I feel has a secret message and just take from it what appeals.
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Never look for secret messages is my advice.
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Sounds good.
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So much depth K, love your choice of image.
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Thanks Jude. I’m always attracted to birds and the moon.
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I didn’t know what to make of this image. I’m so glad you took it on, and I love your take on the prompt and collage. Pretending to own, the padlock and key, and then that last stanza–beautiful and haunting.
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Thanks Merril. I was attracted to the bird–I wrote the poem after making my own collage. I did not like the keyhole in the moon and the man who seemed to feel he had a right to unlock it.
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Yes, I agree.
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hmmmm…..I’m having a bit of a difficult time with this. I guess what’s happened here is that Catrin’s image inspired you to create your own image and you then wrote about your own image? I do like the poem.
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I’m sorry if I confused you Liilian. I always feel that if I need to explain my work it hasn’t done its job.
I’ve been doing dVerse prompts for 4 years now and, as you know, I always make my own art to illustrate my words, even with ekphrastic prompts. But really it’s an interaction–the art is never a literal representation. Hopefully they complement and illuminate both each other and the original prompt. Obviously it didn’t work here for you!
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This is beautifully haunting! 💝
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Thanks!
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So lovely and mystical in the face of the skeptical and cynical. Nicely conceived.
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Thanks Dora.
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Pretending that we own what we claim… isn’t that the main problem today…
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It is. Thanks Bjorn.
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kaykuala
Do we think we can circumscribe
the secrets of the moon
with a padlock and a key?
Nature will take its course and will work its way clockwork fashion. We humans can only wonder!
Hank
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So true. Thanks Hank.
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