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| a new friend for Esther (SNAIL'S ARK) |
Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit lovely Buffy Silverman for Roundup.
Many thanks to Buffy for including the note about the June 30 "Moon in June" themed Roundup, happening here at Live Your Poem. Looking forward to reading your moon offerings!
I've been down (but not out!) with poison ivy this week. It is SO HARD to be a gardener in Alabama when you are as allergic to poison ivy as I am. I do so many things to prevent exposure, and still that nasty urushiol finds me several times a year. Grrr.
In happier news, I'm attending Folklife in the South conference and learning much about textile arts and traditional Indian dance and a bunch of other things. Color me INSPIRED!
This week's ArtSpeak: Light poem took me a while. I wanted to write something different, surprising. Most (all?) of the poems in this series contain the word "light," and early iterations of this one did too..."scrap of light." Which I do love as a phrase. But then I realized including "of light" wasn't necessary here—"a scrap / snatched from the sun" can be nothing BUT "light!" See what you think. And here's to breaking the rules in service to a poem, even when they're ones you set yourself!
Still Life with Lemons
What is a tablebut a graveyard
for flowers?
What is a teacup
but a place
to drown?
What is a lemon
but a scrap
snatched from the sun?
-Irene Latham
Oh, you did surprise me. I expected something with sunshine, not snatching sunshine. The table as a graveyard for flowers affected me as I look toward the grocery store daisies I have in a favorite vase, happily rescued from sure death in the store. I'm thinking about the moon, but have nothing yet. No promises, either, since I'm having surgery on June 27th. I expect a good result, but I may not be up to participating. I hope your PI clears up soon without too much medication. My husband gets bad reactions, too. And steroids make him crazy. (I didn't mean for this comment to be so long.)
ReplyDeleteYes, no need for the word, "scrap snatched" seems perfect, Irene. I'm sorry for your poison ivy trials. My husband was highly allergic, too. Hope it heals quickly! Nice to read about your 'Folklife' experience!
ReplyDeleteYay for 'scrap snatched', boo to poison ivy! Your 'graveyard' table description is inspired. Feel better. :)
ReplyDeleteYour poem got me thinking and I like the scrap snatched from the sun! Sorry about the poison ivy. Just one of the many perils of summer (to include sunburn and insect bites). . .
ReplyDeleteSo good!
ReplyDeleteSorry about your itchiness! I like scrap snatched from the sun but somehow the sound of scrap of light sounds better to my ear (which is apparently a member of the department of redundancy department.) Love the surprising connections.
ReplyDeleteOh graveyard for flowers. That's definitely a surprise. I'm so sorry you have poison ivy. I did a walk in the woods last weekend for a class and the guide kept saying--"ooh lots of poison ivy." I have no idea whatsoever how I escaped without breaking out and without a tick bite. How? I hope you are itch-free soon.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the title has multiple meanings and I love the re-imagining of rituals and objects.You have given your readers a thought provoking poem. A poem that makes one look out towards other rituals and object that hold potential for re-imagining. A little bit of magic, Irene. I enjoyed every word.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful surprise at the end--and so true!
ReplyDeleteYou nailed it! Mission accomplished -- surprise happened all the way through. (Sorry about the poison ivy; jealous about the folk life conference!)
ReplyDeleteWow! My favorite poetry changes how I see small things in that "What!? Oh, yes! Of course!" kind of way. Your poem absolutely did that! That table graveyard image will linger with me. I'm so glad you shared a peek into your thinking about "of light" and its removal. I love the final version and will think of lemons differently now as well. Fabulous poem. I'm so sorry to hear about the poison ivy though--I suffered through it a LOT as a child. It's miserable!
ReplyDeleteI agree -- "snatched from the sun" is JUST right!
ReplyDeleteIrene, your interpretation of Van Gogh's Still Life is just right. Graveyard of flowers made me think of the community's ladies charity, making flower centerpieces for hospice. (flowers donated by Trader Joe's). Scrap snatched from the sun is a great ending
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry about the poison ivy! Ugh. The poem is perfect — I agree that the word "light" isn't needed. "...a scrap snatched from the sun" is everything one needs. :)
ReplyDeleteI, too, hesitate when "of [blank]" finds its way into my poetry. But you surprised me by not including light - it still works though! Love lemons as scraps of sunshine!
ReplyDeleteHope your itchy poison ivy has disappeared by now, that your inspiration is ongoing, and that your scraps snatched from the sun continue to brighten your days! Loved your poem and the process you shared with us.
ReplyDeleteLOL....I'm catching up on PF posts when browsing the links I read the title of your PF link again with a different pause...Still, life with lemons. Hahahahaha! Sometimes, it's like that.
ReplyDelete"scrap snatched" via sun, Yes! I just saw the Van Gogh Exhibit at the Chicago Art Institute, it was of his earlier works with 4 additional artists–very inspiring. So sorry about your poison ivy, hope you heal up soon.
ReplyDelete