This one goes out to Shauna at Found Art New Zealand. I felt her piece this week was particularly inspired. . . and inspiring!
(Go ahead and take a look so you'll know what I'm talking about: http://foundartnz.blogspot.com/)
There was once an hommage to Magritte
But please don't you dare take a hit
The illusion is broken
This art ain't for smokin'
Voila, ceci n'est pas bullshit
Sometimes it all seems so close...
... and sometimes its feels like light years away.
"Close to the Void"
Screaming into the void
Awaiting the echo's return
Reaching for meaningful teachings
A morsel of truth I could learn
A master I look forward to meeting
To wake me from dreams and ghosts
Life is too short, opportunity fleeting
Open wide, for the answer is close
"Virtue"
It's not at all easy to act out of principle
They laugh in your face and they call you an imbicile
Label you crazy
Habitually lazy
They know not the ways of a heart that's invincible
"Reconciliation"
There once was a cause for confession
The holiest form of expression
Despite your intention
You'll find no redemption
Until the first act of transgression
"Smiling Phases"
Vernal Moon shining bright
Casting shadows in the night
Goddess mother's evening glow
See your children; watch them grow
Newborn crescent's day is done
Setting just behind the Sun
In seven days the orb has grown
Stays out half the night alone
The former phantom fills its whole
Soon good fortune smiles in full
From dusk to dawn she rules the sky
And keeps our restless spirits high
Rising nightly slightly later
Reeling back to her creator
When the slender slice descends
At last the sidereal cycle ends
And in the distant final breath
A new moon born from last month's death
This goes out to Kathy LaRocco, whose work we all admire and whose support we all appreciate. (http://artful-musings-of-kathyl.blogspot.com/)
"The Artful Musings of Kathy L."
There's an amusing midwestern marauder
Collecting collages of water
Worked out in layers
To send them like prayers
Her masterpiece must be her daughter
This one's for Leah a.k.a. Creative Everyday — a Cancerian like myself, whose beautiful works of collage and encaustic are inspired by Rob Brezsny and Tom Robbins, among others.
"Creative Everyday"
There's a Cancer in deep meditation
Her stars are the cause of creation
Balancing spaces
In dark waxy places
Awash with a moon-lit sensation
"Lost"
There's a peacenik whose poetry shined
But was lost in a world so unkind
Confused by the fighting
He kept right on writing
Till one day he just lost his mind
I hope whoever buys the next box of GrapeNuts has a streak of compassion and a sense of humor!
This is for one of my favorite *Found Art* artists of all times...
"Pacha's Found Art"
There's a German who comes from the East
Feeding shoppers a visual feast
She left it behind
For someone to find
So their happiness may have increased
Here's another tribute to another wonderful online artist.
"A Fanciful Twist"
There's a queen with a fanciful twist
And a cool cache of coins on her wrist
Enamoured by sweets
And colorful treats
Her swap meets are not to be missed
Keep up the great work everybody... and keep your spirits high. You are making the world more beautiful each day.
I hope that yesterday's drawing, pictured below, put a smile on someone's face. (Now you know why I'm a poet and not a graphic artist, thank you very much.) It was inspired by footage from an anti-Vietnam protest I recently saw in a John Lennon movie. Art is beauty. Beauty is peace. Make art, give beauty, create peace. Stop the carnage.
"Random Acts"
Those random acts of kindness
Have never been known to cause blindness
So make someone smile
Just once in a while
For life is too short to be mindless
I've written plenty of Limericks this year about other people, real and fictitious, living and dead. I suppose it's one way of trying to make sense out of other people - sifting the stream of life for the uncommon kernel of universal truth. But I spent all morning pulling curly ones and black sludge out of the shower drain (not mine own), and so now I think I've earned this moment of self-indulgence. (Don't worry, I'll keep it brief.)
"The Granola Poet"
There's a poet inspired by Elling
A writer with adequate spelling
He leaves lyrical notes
In boxes of oats
And where he'll strike next there's no telling
Today I have to acknowledge the rambunctious Paigerella: literary enthusiast of the week! I just discovered that she's been reading and podcasting James Joyce's "Ulysses" in its entirety at paigerella.libsyn.com.* It's a lively rendition of the modern masterpiece, capturing all of its perplexing poetry and vitality. And it's proabably going to keep Paigerella busy for the rest of the year.
(*Sorry for the clumsy cut-and-paste links — I'm going to learn html as soon as I finish deciphering "Finnegans Wake")
"Paigerella"
There's a scholar who lives by the bay
With a passion for drama I'd say
But the 16th of June
May drive her to ruin
For she's madly obsessed by that day
Happy Found Art Tuesday everyone. This one goes out to my mother, who is not only this week's Found Art theme, but she also happens to be in Ireland, the land where Limericks were born!
"Mother"
A bringer of life like no other
She gave birth to me and my brother
And loves like a savior
Despite our behavior
So give thanks and praise to your mother
I'll be secretly depositing this Tuesday Limerick into an unsuspecting granola box later this evening.
So the rusty corner of my brain that cranks out Limericks from time to time — well I greased it up real nice with a half-carton of soy non-dairy beverage, and now the Limericks are rolling out faster than I can catch them. Apparently there was an old half-written Limerick about Cyrus the Great that was clogging the works and backing up my whole apparatus. Hopefully things will be running smoothly again now.
The following goes out to Robayre (www.robayre.com/news/?cat=4) and anyone else out there who enjoys amusing him- or herself.
"What's cute?"
There's an artist with senses astute
On a quest to determine what's cute
It needn't be tall
But better if small
And best to weigh less than a newt
Happy monday morning. What better way to clear the cobwebs of a much-too-short short weekend than by stretching the noodle with a semi-aquatic Limerick? (No, I can't think of one either... a better way that is.) This one goes out to an odd duck (http://anoddduck.blogspot.com/), whose light-hearted reverence for thrift shops, raindrops and public radio should serve as an inspiriation to all of us.
"An Odd Duck"
There's an anatine artist out yonder
Each morning she takes time to ponder
Special teas of all sorts
And the words of Will Shortz
Take a gander, for what could be fonder?
My latest Limerick was inspired by a piece I saw at Penelope Illustration entitled "Be Mindful." It shows a finger with a yellow ribbon tied around it, which reads "Be Mindful." (http://penelopeillustration.com/blog/)
She's got plenty of other nice pieces as well. Anyway, here's my thoughts on the subject...
“Be Mindful”
Respect the source and you surely will hear it
Only the wicked have reason to fear it
To obtain inner peace
Just learn to release
And never forget to be mindful in spirit
Water — wow. Now there's a heavily charged element for a poet to wrap his mind around. Steeped in symbolism, drenched in double meaning... birth, death, mother, seas of change, streams of consciousness... Where would I begin? I went with my gut instinct, which was to follow the Tao. The softness thing overcomes the hardest thing, and all that jazz. I struggled with the topic for about half a day and ended with a pair of limericks.
Last night I made a clandestine trip to the grocery store and tried not to spend an inordinate amount of time in the cereal aisle. All went smoothly, and I successfully innoculated a box of Organics bran flakes and a box of Quaker Natural. May some lucky granola lover wake up tomorrow (or today?) with a pearl of wisdom to contemplate for the rest of the day.
"THE RIVER OF LIFE"
The current of life always flowing
The river remains, the water keeps going
Escapes from your hand
Turning rock into sand
Its secret is something worth knowing
"WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE"
From the fountain of time we all dip
For each moment a succulent sip
Holding water in hand
Like an hour of sand
It will never succumb to your grip
