Poem up at The Ekphrastic Review

salome s

My poem “personifications” is posted along with the others selected for the challenge artwork “Salome” by Henri Regnault on The Ekphrastic Review today.

Regnault’s piece is well known but not typical of artists’ interpretations of the Biblical story (which has been altered in our consciousness by time and retelling also).  Most painters choose to show either the dance, perhaps accompanied by a disembodied head, or a close up of a woman with a head on a platter.  Here we have a woman, sitting, with a platter and a sword but no head.  Is it supposed to be empowerment?

salome top s

My collage, too, follows neither common narrative.  I knew I had a dark female figure in the collage box that I wanted to use, and in the search for her I pulled out other elements that seemed to fit with her and my poem.

salome bottom s

I always thought the story of Salome was just another example of humans refusing to take responsibility for their own actions and desires.  None of the behavior, certainly, merits imitation.  Blind obedience is just as bad as passing the buck (see: current world “leaders” and their followers…)

Once again, thanks to Review editor Lorette C. Luzajic for selecting my poem and supporting the call and response of poetry and art.  You can read all the poetry and see the original artwork here.

I also really like Redon’s Salome, below.

salome redon

 

midwinter

midwinter s

this persistent grey
 magnifies the compressed dark–
dawn heavy with dusk

squirrels search for buried treasure–
 seeds in wait for light’s return

midwinter close up s

For Frank Tassone’s #Haikai Challenge #117.  I was going to do a completely different collage, but once I pulled out the handmade paper, I decided that stitching some together was what was needed.  I haven’t done any stitching for awhile, and it was good to get back to it.

The squirrels have been very busy lately.

 

answers to questions

answers to questions s

Jude, at Tales Told Different, nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award and asked all his nominees to answer 11 questions.  I thought to do a collage, but then I decided I needed to add a few words…well, the Collage Box Oracle will have her way.  Still, she managed to incorporate most of the questions into her answers.

answers clos up 2s

Here is my list of answers:
horror
1/3 meat
walking
singer
West Side Story
wine
Scotland
blend in
wet
sunrise
cat

answers clos up 1s

You can read the questions here.  And do look at Jude’s writing while you’re there!

somewhere dawn is singing–
 she rises walking aquatic
through lochs and isles
inside the sounds of words

become a friend to fear

eat light

drink the dazzling day

 

into itself

into itself s

winter leaves, overlapping
 with cold wind, rain,
clouds that permeate

each every day
 footsteps too heavy
to follow another

enclosed in lethargy,
 the hours devoid
of song, stagnant

from here to anywhere,
 held in pause–
each day a tunnel

searching for openings–
 starsunmoon
glowing

A quadrille for Lillian at dVerse, using the word glow.

into itself close up 1s

I always like to photograph my art in natural light, but it’s so dark here today, I also did some with the overhead light on.  It gives everything a yellow tone, and doesn’t show the subtle shifts in the color any better.  Maybe they’re too subtle.