...quiet, about a lot of things...
Thursday, March 29, 2007
The Art of Living..for Poetry Thursday
Today's challenge is: find yourself in a piece of art. Well, I have been called a piece of work before, but I don't think that's what they meant! tee hee.
But strangely enough...I have had this thought before. The poem below will address my resemblance to the birth of Venus...OK...I know it's a bit daft....but here goes.
Resemblance
I am
conspicuously
older
than everyone
else.
out of place
in my college
desk.
far away from
the ivy
halls
I had
dreamed of
as a kid.
I have my own kids now.
The baby sitter
is paid
ten dollars
an hour
for me
to learn
about
Renaissance
art history.
(my husband asked
if they had a class
on laundry.
I pretended
not to hear him.)
but now I hear him.
in my head.
Along with the
others laughing
at the middle aged
housewife trying
to go backwards
to go forwards.
I cross my feet
under my chair
just as I did
in second grade.
Lights go out
as slides begin.
Then,the world
breaks open,
like a new
box of crayons.
and there before me,
projected through
dusty community college
air, floats someone
they call Venus.
I see her everyday
I the mirror.
I see her face in mine.
Leaning forward
in my 1950's
desk chair,
I know I must
be losing
my mind.
full in midlife
crisis.
crazy,
that she
should live
in me!
I try
to clear
my head,
to refocus.
yet the
vision of
Venus
remains.
still dancing
in my eyes.
wlf 9:42am
I gotta run now...But I'll be over to PT by lunch......Have fun!
But strangely enough...I have had this thought before. The poem below will address my resemblance to the birth of Venus...OK...I know it's a bit daft....but here goes.
Resemblance
I am
conspicuously
older
than everyone
else.
out of place
in my college
desk.
far away from
the ivy
halls
I had
dreamed of
as a kid.
I have my own kids now.
The baby sitter
is paid
ten dollars
an hour
for me
to learn
about
Renaissance
art history.
(my husband asked
if they had a class
on laundry.
I pretended
not to hear him.)
but now I hear him.
in my head.
Along with the
others laughing
at the middle aged
housewife trying
to go backwards
to go forwards.
I cross my feet
under my chair
just as I did
in second grade.
Lights go out
as slides begin.
Then,the world
breaks open,
like a new
box of crayons.
and there before me,
projected through
dusty community college
air, floats someone
they call Venus.
I see her everyday
I the mirror.
I see her face in mine.
Leaning forward
in my 1950's
desk chair,
I know I must
be losing
my mind.
full in midlife
crisis.
crazy,
that she
should live
in me!
I try
to clear
my head,
to refocus.
yet the
vision of
Venus
remains.
still dancing
in my eyes.
wlf 9:42am
I gotta run now...But I'll be over to PT by lunch......Have fun!
Labels: Poetry Thursday
22 Comments:
Wendy, my friend, I love love love this! Absolutely LOVE IT!
I like how this poem shows the interaction between the art and the viewer instead of just viewing the painting as a static object.
Wendy, this is fabulous. The box of crayons, the babysitter, the laundry comment--just the right setting and then the art. Fantastic.
My PT is up.
Wendy, this is fabulous. The box of crayons, the babysitter, the laundry comment--just the right setting and then the art. Fantastic.
My PT is up.
Oh I like this. *claps hands* Venus us alive while hubby is doing laundry. :) Good for you, learning is for everyone, it's just wasted on the young.
Rose
xo
I am captivated by the slides flashing as well. So many stories, poems, locked up in dusty museum vaults. You do resemble Venus in your willingness to embrace your inner needs.
Great poem, I love your style.
Sweet poem, I enjoyed reading it. It flowed very well. Beautiful image.
This is a great poem, Wendy - "...the world breaks open, like a new box of crayons." Just beautiful! And your middle-aged bit in the class of youngsters is the way I felt in my Spanish class in Seville. Speaking of which, I used some Spanish in my poem posted an hour before the deadline (and it becomes Friday) my time. Sigh. Nice to have guests, but not so nice to have little time to one's self. xo
"Lights go out
as slides begin.
Then,the world
breaks open,
like a new
box of crayons."
That's my favourite bit. Well done.
All I can say is that everyone else is right in their appreciation for this wonderful poem. I think the short lines especially are a smart choice, making the journey more winnowing (if that's a word), and then you hit it with that unveiling of Venus. I like that daring admission, too, of seeing yourself there. Most of us our too timid to own up to that sort of thing.
Beautiful words that sing the soul of this painting.
this is just wonderful..and you just keep right on pursuing your dreams..you go Girl..oops sorry Venus..:)thanks for the visit and yes DaVinci believed there was a person just waiting to come out of each piece of marble and he had the talent to do just that free the form just waiting there...thanks for the visit..m
this is a fantastic poem, I love the way it travels, reveals itself slowly.
"Then, the world/breaks open,/like a new/box of crayons"
has got to be the best imagery, contrasted with the self-conscious build up, truly brilliant - in more ways than one.
"to go backwards/to go forwards" was another succinct gem I savored.
Daftness? I see none at all! This is such a well written, honest and brave poem!
(I finally got my degree at the age of 48 - I know that out of place feeling)
Stunning post
Enjoyed my visit here!!!!
Wendy,
You've opened the window to your heart and shown us you. Beautiful!
rel
I love the journey here, the coming to recognition of your / the narrator's potential. When I was a student, I always totally admired the 70 year old woman who came along to some of the student groups i was involved in (though I was never in class with her). She was so full of a yearning to learn that some of the younger career directed students didn't have.
this
is
fantastic.
I love this poem so much - it has your voice and a flow to it that is typical of your work.
I see a definite resemblance in the photo of you and the painting of Venus. Both of you are fair & beautiful, strong & clear.
I love this poem! Great work. I'm an backward/forward mother going to school (yet again) and feeling so out of place, so I could relate. I like the redemption that happens in the classroom.
This was just such an honest and beautiful poem... we are all Venus', aren't we?!
My last year of college, I took studio art and art history--my first art classes ever.
I still remember the lights going out and the slides starting and that sense of a world being unlocked to me. Having been obsessed with writer's and writing for most of my academic life, it was so, so interesting to see the creative process channel in a different realm, to see study people communicating ideas and messages without words.
The thrill of living in Europe has been seeing the art I studied all those years ago. It. is. amazing.
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