Friday, December 14, 2012

SPARK 18

Once again I have participated in a round of SPARK, which randomly matches artists and writers who exchange inspiration pieces and then produce response pieces over a ten-day period.  I always look forward to the challenge and to "meeting" a fellow artiste, and I've found that many of them are writers as well as painters or photographers or sculptors.  Some people just gotta express themselves!

This time I was working from two inspirations, really.  Recently my dear friend Charles Waters sent me perhaps the best compliment I will ever receive.  Charles wrote that he liked my poems in The Poetry Friday Anthology (nice enough in itself!) and then, "I do believe if e.e. cummings and Emily Dickinson had a baby it would be you."

Oh my.  If ever there was a compliment worth living up to, that's it.  I even began to hope it might somehow actually be true (no offense to my actual earthly parents), and I went and double-checked birth and death dates to see if Emily and Edward might ever have met.  (No.  Emily died eight years before e.e. was born.)  Still, I was wearing Charles's lovely speculation on my head like a crown (that's how good it made me feel) when I received a photo from Jules Rolfe (see it here), and so my response poem is all metaphysical and punctuated.


We Be

the grass is Always bluer—
the sky is Always greener—
the view of (Always) what’s to come
is better: finer: cleaner

@round the bend begins #the end—
We cannot hope to see her—
We set our sights, We claim our right
and many hopes to Be her—

Be all, end all #god and fate—
is she sky or grass or sand?
@round the bend We find the Light
if only Loose it from our hand


~Heidi Mordhorst 2012

 
Many thanks to Jules for her wonderful Nebraska landscape and to Charles for his generous challenge!

The Round-Up today is with Jama at
Jama's Alphabet Soup--always a tasty smorgasbord of treats. And next week I'll be your host right here; if you're planning to participate in my Solstice-themed edition of Poetry Friday, feel free to send me your links as early as you like!

8 comments:

  1. Love love your poem, Heidi! And Charles's compliment was a good one :).

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  2. Love it! What a great collaborative blend!

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  3. e.e. & Emily's love child! How wonderful. Your poem honors them both yet is uniquely YOU. Thank you so much for sharing!

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  4. I love the image of you preening around the house with Charles' compliment on your head like a crown - priceless! And what a beautiful compliment it is.

    I think you did your poetic parents proud with this lovely poem. Beautiful imagery and rhythm - I'm particularly drawn to "the view of (Always) what’s to come / is better: finer: cleaner"
    :)

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  5. Lovely post and poem, Heidi! I am going to save "We Be" in my e-poetry journal :-)

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  6. Oh Heidi you;re so sweet to mention me on your blog. All I did was tell the truth as I saw it. :-)

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  7. Heidi, I have just posted for this week's Poetry friday and am not sure where to send you the link so I hope you find it here :-) I wish you and yours a very happy Winter Solstice - and, although my post that focuses on the poet John Agard is not exactly seasonal, I hope it will injexct a little caribbean sunshine into your celebrations!

    www.papertigers.org/wordpress/poetry-friday-congratulations-to-john-agard-winner-of-the-queens-gold-medal-for-poetry-2012/

    And I've enjoyed catching up with last week's poem, and indeed the Gingerbread Shed, both of which I love for the atmosphere that each conjures up.

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Thanks for joining in the wild rumpus!