My message from the Oracle this morning. The first word she gave me was “animal” but it seems she meant their presence to be inferred by the Badger form.
ask the
long always for
sanctuary—beneath
seasons of riversong
here follows deep
between
why and
how to listen
when moonspirit is about–
wandering ancient light
through forested
earthshine
The art is from the archives–one of many mandalas I did for Sue Vincent’s prompts.
The Oracle first gave me the title this morning. And she was insistent on the last three lines.
who will hear our voices?
winter winds our walls
snow our blanket
old news now–
drowned out
by the latest atrocities
“Ukrainian Figurines” by Kirill Shevchenko (Groder) Image by Кирилл Шевченко from Pixabay
David, at The Skeptic’s Kaddish, supplied the above photo for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday this week. I recently ran across a “42” poem I had written and the form seemed just right for this prompt. The situation in Ukraine is full of questions with no easy answers.
I did these collages in my early days of blogging, when Marcy Erb and I did a number of poetry and art collaborations. The poetic excerpt that inspired this work was from Frederick Turner.
On the Death of an Infant
Latecomer, first to go,
Like the small arctic flower
Between the snow and snow,
The fragrance of an hour.
Frederick Turner (b. 1943)
Every day new things demand our attention–but let us not forget the people of Ukraine.
my mind ebbs, then flows out like an ocean sailing the wind–
empty channels drift away from the center to the edge–
multitudes of changing colour, condensed motion, thoughts full
I was going to write a sestina with Jane’s Oracle 2 words and I picked out six that called to me: ocean, colour, wind, edge, motion, full. But after writing the first stanza, it seemed too daunting, so I revised it into a sijo instead.
When looking in the archives for art, I immediately picked out the first painted mandala, but when I saw the collage I knew I had to include it too. It’s based on a painting by Nina’s father that she posted; you can read about it here. Nina has written several times about her father’s service in WWII and this is in honor of all our fathers and mothers and friends and relatives who fought and fight in the world’s continuous wars on this Veteran’s Day 2022. May we wake up and bring the need for them to an end.
1
ask about cloud children
secret and ocean born
2
come dance with life
flying on foolish beginnings
3
the vast healing rhythm of green
opens slowly into always
4
stars surround the idea of time
sailing the voices of trees
5
if we listen to nothing
we can hear the universe sing
My message(s) today from the Oracle.
When I was looking for art, I stumbled on the dot collages I did for NaPoWriMo 2017. I did not do the entire month, but I did create new art for each post–the only year I’ve done that. Lately I’ve been creating a lot of the month’s art ahead of time, inspired by one or more artists’ work–Joan Mitchell, Matisse, Diebenkorn, Redon. But this might be worth trying again. I can never recreate things I’ve done in the past, so it would be interesting to see how I would approach the project now.
in this recurring dream
the forest disappears–
unbound by earthly time,
collapsed into spiraling
the forest disappears
behind layers of eternity,
collapsed into spiraling–
who can disentangle the dark?
behind layers of eternity,
casting threads into moonrings–
who can disentangle the dark?–
the shadows seem insufficient–
casting threads into moonrings
to catch the reflection of owl–
the shadows seem insufficient
for gathering the ancestors–
to catch the reflection of owl,
take your fears and hide them–
gather the ancestors
in the bottomless wildness of light–
take your fears and hide them–
unbounded by earthly time–
in the bottomless wildness that lights
this recurring dream
For earthweal, where Brendan asks us to visit the forest of light and shadow. I am certain one will always find an owl there.
Hands pause—you whistle between. White bridge slips through your fingers.
Who can number the space of days? To cross them, you must open.
The gate shapes all beginnings, all answers, to equal zero.
Lisa, at Tao Talk, supplied Colleen’s #TankaTuesday image, above. I wanted to try a sijo, which is the Wombwell Rainbow’s form this week. I think I’ve done one before, but it was a long time ago. I like the way it encourages the writer to think about different aspects of the same thought.
I’ve used some embroidered circles I did for a Kick-About prompt as illustration–the Eames Powers of Ten film, a barrage of images, made me think of zero, Lisa’s photo reminded me also of crossing the circles of space and time.
This week’s Oracle 2 words from Jane gave me a starting point–whistle. Which made me think of whistling in the wind. The human condition. Nevertheless, we continue.
You can read the story of the photo at Tao Talk here.
The Oracle insisted I use the Mustache kit this morning, and this is what she gave me there. When I was looking in the archives for art, besides the above image, I came across another one I’ve used before. That one, below, was used for one of Jane’s Yeats challenges, which she and I had just been talking about,
“Do you not hear me calling, white deer with no horns?”
–Yeats
Crown falls with
angels and stars, laughs,
becomes seeds–
now singing,
calling to earth’s children—Come!
Touch the sacred skies!
if you believe in the mystery
life is poetry–
growing roots–calling
with the power of a stillness
beyond space or time
K. 