Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit for radiant Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge for Roundup. I wanted to share the Gee's Bend-style quilt top I made with my mom and Gee's Bend quilters Mary Ann Pettway and China Pettway. I went 100% improvisational, and made myself not ruminate over artistic choices. I picked a fabric and just went with it, no turning back. So much fun!
May brings so many wonderful things: my nephew's graduation from college; my annual cello recital; lunch with friends at the lake; etc!
And this year, it brought me PINK EYE. Grrr. After a round of antibiotics, I am nearly recovered, but y'all, it's been rough to show up for all these happy things when not feeling anywhere close to my best.
This week's ArtSpeak: LIGHT poem insisted on being a haiku...which feels especially appropriate given haiku-master Robyn doing the Roundup! The poem also insisted I keep it simple...despite my best efforts to flower it up! (Somehow I think the woman in Frieske's art would appreciate that fact. She seems happy in the shadows, happy to let her accessory be the attention-getter, rather than herself. I can relate!) And I wrote it two ways.
Question for the hive: which do you think is the more effective poem, and why?
yellow parasol
perched high upon her shoulder
another sun
- Irene Latham
unflinching sun
perched high upon her shoulder
yellow parasol
- Irene Latham
Thanks so much for reading.
p.s. Have you seen the documentary JUDY BLUME FOREVER yet? Don't miss!
Mmm... tempt me with weighing in on a haiku! Okay, my vote would go to the second. While it's actually a little more flowery in language, there's a bit more ambiguity and mystery in it until you get to the last line because it's less of a direct "this equals this" that the first option suggests to me. Just my two cents! Yay for your new quilt - love the lively lines and color! And here's to full healing for your poor eye. xo
ReplyDeleteThanks, Robyn. Love this peek into your mind! I also love the mystery in the second one.
DeleteI'm sorry for the pink eye, Irene. Bleh. I like the first version better, and I like it a lot! A yellow parasol perching feels friendly and birdlike. An unflinching sun feels intimidating and punishing to me--which doesn't seem to fit the art (though I can't interpret her expression well enough to really say that). :>)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laura! Appreciate your thoughts. You absolutely can interpret her expression however you wish! "Unflinching," to me, can also mean brave, bold... I see those things in the woman's face.
DeleteI am by far the less expert here but I prefer the first. I think we definitely notice the parasol first and the 3rd line then expands our view beyond the frame. For me the second is making me look for something that competes with the main image before I'm ready. But, "unflinching," yes. Either way, pretty great! And your improvisational quilt top is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Heidi. Appreciate your thoughts very much!
DeleteYikes, sorry about your eye & hope it's all okay very soon. I love these older paintings, imagine what it must be like to wear such outfits, carry the parasols? My choice, number two, mostly because it feels as if one can read more from it because of the word "unflinching". Now, in a few days, hope you return & tell us what your choice would be. And, your quilt is gorgeous, Irene!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda! I have trouble even calling a poem haiku, as it really means different things to different people...some want the 5-7-5 syllable count; others want the "turn;" and there are others ideas as well! I love how this discussion shows that poetry is not right or wrong, and preference is very personal! I hope this is encouraging for poets...whatever way one goes, there will be a reader who engages! xo
DeleteHmm...The first one is a "tell" with a twist (another sun), so the surprise delights. The second one, leads with the metaphor right out of the starting gate, then "tells" - which sort of takes away the surprise. So I guess I would say #1 - though I wonder if there's another word choice for "another" (sun)? -- On another note, you need to share with us how you choose your paintings in a future post!
ReplyDeleteHi Patricia, thank you for your thoughts! I bet there are a thousand other words than "another." Wouldn't it be fun to try them all?? Thanks for your question about how I select the art. I'll add that to an upcoming post. For now I will say this: miraculously, the art finds me. I really don't have to work at that part. xo
DeleteThe thing about writing a haiku two ways is that the light in it changes meaning...unflinching or yellow...we are getting to that parasol. Fun! Not fun is pink eye. Isn't it crazy how those "childhood" maladies can bring a grown up down?! Ugh! I hope you are feeling better soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda! So many ways to get into a poem! And yes, I was laid low by that darn pink eye..surely a message from the universe that at least occasionally I need to slow down. xo
ReplyDeleteSo sorry about the pink eye! ;( I love that you wrote your haiku 2 ways. I really like both, but maybe the second one is slightly the winner for me?
ReplyDeleteI think because you described the woman in the painting as "She seems happy in the shadows, happy to let her accessory be the attention-getter, rather than herself," for me #2 expresses that sentiment better. "Unflinching" gives me the idea of brave, in contrast to what the woman seems to be. Hope you are feeling better, Irene.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry about the pinkeye! No fun at all. I like both versions of the haiku but the second one hits me harder. The parasol as an unflinching sun is a vivid image that helps me feel both the sun's heat and the protection of the parasol more strongly.
ReplyDelete