Through these prisms—
azure blue and amber brown
we see the world in endless hues
somewhere therein.
We weigh ideas of movement,
space, and time
by waves, lace edged that lap
the Atlantic’s rock strewn shore.
In dark receding eddies
where this aqueous illusion
imbricates reality in wood-grained angles
of sepia yesterdays and indigo tomorrows,
we draw invisibly with pencils of memory
upon a brushwork of dreams.
We each disappear, then return through
washes of earth, sky and water
changed by tide, clouds, and sky.
Entranced with that resplendent light
as it plays through the trees onto
bark bare ground-- behold
summer clouds, snow, eiderdown--
above blue, beneath brown.
© Gay Reiser Cannon * All Rights Reserved
Ah yes, my favorite inch between immensities, firmaments, continents of being. Loved the rich tonal poetic which balances "azure blue and amber brown," sepia and indigo, "cerulean illusion" and "reality in wood-grained angles." And the "we" of the observe nails these truths to every one of our doors, condemning what Blake called "single vision and Newton's Sleep." Sixteen stumps of driftwood in the chorus, through which a sea breeze sighs a mighty applause. - Brendan
ReplyDeleteYou're good Brendan. This time your comment may be better than the poem; at the very least it wondrously expands it. Kudos, my dear friend.
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful poem! a lot of great lines in here, like sepia yesterdays & indigo tomorrows - really give this piece depth & beauty
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flow here, Gay, like the ocean itself, rhythmic and cadenced, and the alliteration and internal language of each line is musical. Brendan has already fished out my favorite lines, but I really like the closing five as well, with it's last flurry of images. It made me think of a quilt on the line, seeing both sides at once.
ReplyDeleteyeesh, with "their" flurry, not its.
ReplyDeleteYes Joy...I had that kind of fluttery idea I wanted to convey. Everything in motion, But the tones all daylight, all windblown, all seen but at the same time transitory. This was a very visual poem for me.
ReplyDeleteNothing like the Atlantic to bring beautiful hues and musings to mind. Wonderful, Gay :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent poem, so beautifully written!
ReplyDeleteLove it :)
All the best
Marinela
Short Poems
Oh....this was transporting...on a day that needed it.
ReplyDeleteIt also was the essence of watercolor...I felt as if I was observing the painting in watercolor....transfusing, dissolving, ultimately solid,
Beautiful.
Lady Nyo
Now there's a careful study...rhythmic as the waters that inspired it. Might I ask: is the picture yours? Whose the painter? Back to the poem, though...a most descriptive piece, with some truly appetizing lines. Personally a fan of the "cerulean illusion"...now there's a play of words that just rolls deliciously off the tongue!
ReplyDeleteVibrant, rhythmic and descriptive.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words everyone. It did feel a sort of word water color. Unfortunately I've never been much good at real water colors. Made real messes with them as a child and never learned the techniques. I'm much better with paints on a computer. They don't spoil anything but what I'm doing if I use them wrong.
ReplyDeletehi Chris. I basically did the illustration last night on the computer. Just some triangles filled in with rock structures and then threw some noise at it and then hit the bump map a couple of times for texture. I fiddled with it longer than I should have!
ReplyDeleteGay those last two lines are like a song..."eiderdown..above blue, beneath brown"...beautiful sound that will be hard to forget....thank you..bkm
ReplyDeletemmm....lots of great lines in there gay...the sepia yesterdays...love it...this has a gret feel to it...and love the colors with which you paint...
ReplyDeletei love the illustration and the poem is absolutely beautiful!!! ♥
ReplyDeletePerfect marriage of image and text
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poetic consideration of color, composition, and the fleeting reality of momentary perceptions.
ReplyDeleteIn dark receding eddies
ReplyDeletewhere this cerulean illusion
overlaps reality in wood-grained angles
of sepia yesterdays and indigo tomorrows,
we draw invisibly with pencils of memory
upon a brushwork of dreams.
I love your use of colors reserved for the art world...cerulean is a favorite and also the mention of "sepia yesterdays and indigo tomorrows..." Your composition is always top notch.
Thanks for your comments on my site...your mention of an adjustment at the end is well taken...sometimes I have a tendancy to write until I have raped the last word and quite honestly I don't put enough thought into some of what I write. I am a 'write it in ten minutes and fold it like a paper airplane and let it fly' type of guy.
I always tell myself I should write it in ten then edit it in another ten and polish it for ten more...give it at least a half an hour.
I always admire the structure and depth of what you write. The bipolar in me keeps me writing off the cuff and releasing it quickly to soar into paper airplane heaven.
Tolbert - whatever time it takes you to write, the words clearly percolate within you because they are always clear and vivid bringing characters to life and bringing dimension to the worlds you build.
ReplyDeleteYour paiting is beautiful and your words compliment it well.
ReplyDeleteKB - Thank you for that. The poem came first but I guess it doesn't really matter. Appreciate your saying so and coming by to read.
ReplyDeleteDid you paint this? "Sepia yesterdays" really connects with me as I am going through an almost 100 year old journal and photographs of my Grandmother. Thank you for your wonderful critique of my poem Monday. I love that you took the time and I made a tweak to the poem. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLovely poem. The poem and the painting do justice to each other. Well done, Gay.
ReplyDeleteEkphrastic and beautiful, Gay. I see this as a homage to the way the outer world calls to the inner, the color as its own music, pulling us in. xxxj
ReplyDeletei loved the visual of beholding light filtering through the trees...i've always found it so hypnotic and just cannot resist clicking it...
ReplyDeleteyou really got in to the layers with this one...and it worked...great one shot..cheers pete
ReplyDelete"Above blue, beneath brown." Thank God (really!) for light that we may see color. You "paint a picture" here with your words.
ReplyDeleteAh! Gay, you have only gotten better...
Glad I got in here today.
PEACE!
I think there's a fundamental difference between the Atlantic and the Pacific that's expressed here, something hard to pinpoint, yet so tangible. Nice piece, Gay. :)
ReplyDeleteGay,...as a long time watercolor painter....the trick to watercolor is to mess up~! You can always 'fix', (depending upon the 'stains' you are using in watercolor), but the messing up sometimes leads to a 'happy accident' that transcends anything we can attempt to do by methodology.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, your computer generated painting is wonderful!
Lady Nyo
Love the balance and flow of this one! The painting is the perfect backdrop to this wonderful piece.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Love the rhythem of it.
ReplyDeleteoh gay - your words are wonderful with that painting.. sepia yesterdays and indigo tomorrows.. it's like i can hear the ocean call..
ReplyDelete