Carapace—
who speaks?—carapace—
dream landscape
indigo
blue paths going from nowhere
into nowhere else.
A shelter?–
a support?–cosmic
tree growing
up and up
with turtles all the way down
to infinity…
Sarah at dVerse asks us to consider the word blue. I did have a dream with a disembodied voice repeating “carapace”, and used it as inspiration for the shells I painted for the Kick-About prompt “Museum Wormarianum”. The dream was saturated in blues.
Both Nina and I have painted and drawn and photographed turtles and tortoises many times at memadtwo. They are wonderful–and need I say? endangered–creatures, believed by some cultures to hold the earth, and all life, on their backs.
And here’s some classic blues performed by the Turtle Island String Quartet.
K. 
your turtle mandalas look like xrays of brains …
string quartet is like swimming in the sea!
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Thanks Kate. The paintings were based on actual shells. Nature does have a way of repeating firms.
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how lovely, thanks for informing me Kerfe!
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When I see your carapaces I think of protective talismans. What a wonderful message to receive and such a beautiful way you’ve manifested the message. I also really like how the quartet did the rock and roll version of pachabel’s canon: hendrix’ hey joe. Very cool.
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Thanks Jade. I agree, it was a wonderful message to receive. The Quartet has done many good versions of rock songs. I like their version of Crossroads too.
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You’re welcome and I love the designs you created on the carapaces.
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Your art work and poetics really shine. You double-rocked the prompt.
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Thanks Glenn. A good prompt.
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They have the gift of water, one that we endanger, often without thought.
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There are so many ways we negatively impact tortoises and turtles. And the places where land and water meet.
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I like your turtle swimming in the blue waters. I was reminded of the story of how turtle island came to be.
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Thanks. Turtles play a large part in world mythology.
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I can hear your muse calling out ‘carapace’ – and the paintings are stunning. I can picture them trying to carry the whole earth (including we who persecute them) on their backs.
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Thanks Ingrid. A turtle shell does seem to be a natural resting place for the earth. In Hindu mythology elephants stand on the turtle’s back holding the earth. That is also a wonderful image.
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A delightful combination of turtle poem, art and music, Kerfe! And we have indigo in common. The word ‘carapace’ feels lovely when it’s enunciated, with the hard and soft ‘c’ and the plosive ‘p’ in the middle, like a splash. I love the:
‘…cosmic
tree growing
up and up
with turtles all the way down
to infinity…’
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld!
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Thanks Kim. The sounds of words are as important as their meaning I think.
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First of all, that’s a lot of turtles, Kerfe 😉
Second, I like the idea of going “down” to infinity, instead of “up” – that made me reread the words again to make sure I’d caught the meaning.
I really enjoyed this a lot 😀
Yours,
David
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Thanks David. I’ve always liked the “turtles all the way down” expression/answer and was happy to get a chance to use it in a poem.
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it’s an expression?
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Google it. I first heard it as the punchline to a koan-like joke. But it’s also a philosophical idea.
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Wonderful blueness to the hue of your verse here. Kerfe, loved the way it both pushed and pulled me along. Well written.
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Thanks Rob.
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The tree growing up and up, and at the bottom, as deep as ever we can go—turtles. I love this idea of carapace world.
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Thanks Jane. Preferable to human architecture for sure.
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Anything ‘beautiful’ built by humans beings, is usually borrowing from nature and even when the result is ‘beauty’ there’s always some price to pay in defiling the environment, and often in human suffering in building it.
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All true. It’s been a long time since our dwellings blended into the landscape.
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We always want to do better than nature and better/higher/bigger than anyone’s ever done before.
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Bigger and faster. Until it explodes.
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Then we blame nature.
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Love how you came to the turtle, which reminds me of some stories of creation..
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Thanks Bjorn. Yes the turtle figures in many creation stories.
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