It Seems

For MLMM’s Photo Challenge #413, this image from Pobble 365:

My first thought upon seeing this was about the surrealist painter René Magritte, specifically his painting The Son of Man, which you will probably recognize:

via

I found some fascinating information about Magritte himself, specifically about his early life. Learning about what events inspired an artist’s or writer’s work is endlessly intriguing to me!

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It seems Magritte was a vampire:
Looking into the mirror seeing no face
No hair empty black suit black hat.

              White Walls.

Is this the real world?
It seems an image given by a false mirror
An image given yet at least free,
Free of that damned apple
Which filled the entire space between

                   These 
              White Walls.

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I’ve been trying to write something all week for this captivating picture (preferably something that is not terrible). This poem started to take on some surrealist qualities as I wrote and looked at more of his paintings. At least, that’s my excuse. Apologies!

Sunflower Faces

Turn your face to the sun, wherever it may be.

(my one-liner today)
I also have a poem inspired by that line and DVerse Poetics’s prompt from yesterday: “The Light of Vika Muse.” They feature the beautiful and fantastical art of a Ukrainian artist, Vika Muse.

We Are God’s Workmanship

¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

— Ephesians 2:10 (RSVCE)

The Greek word translated as “workmanship” is “poiēma,” which looks a lot like the word “poem,” so I wrote this poem. This was written on February 20th, but I saved it for a day when I had nothing else to post. Today is that day. Though a few ideas were floating around my mind, none landed on the page well enough to be post-able.

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Sonnetina for Dead Dreams

A sonnetina (like a sonnet but only 10 lines) in response to MLMM’s Saturday Mix: Opposing Forces. I have actually written a few poems in different forms on this same topic, reusing the first one or two lines multiple times. I find that entertaining. 🙂

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What’s all else worth, if greatest dream is dead?
Even with wealth, one craves and hungers still,
Without a way to find his daily bread:
Having nothing to live for kills the will.

A quiet heartbeat yet the pain is loud:
A frozen passion nevermore to melt,
Humbling the artist’s eyes that had been proud
Of such great work — that joy no longer felt.

What use is popularity and cash,
If one’s reason for being’s burned to ash?

Photo by Sebastian Su00f8rensen on Pexels.com

Works of Art

This is a décima for Ronovan Writes’s challenge and for FOWC: Minute.

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Beautiful lives are created,
Slowly becoming works of art,
Working day by day, part by part,
Even if change is belated.

Inspiration

One thing I am loving today is….the act of creating art. I guess you could call this the “flow state.” This stream-of-consciousness poem is for SOCS: above/below.

Above all, I wanted to just post something today. Yesterday I didn’t post anything and hardly wrote anything, either. Until about 8 p.m., I had only written one poem, and the good news about that is, by the time I went to sleep, I had written another 3 poems in my notebook. Their quality, however, is dubious and most likely below average.This is my second poem of today. Let’s see if I have any luck in following this mysterious and winding stream.

Those days that I love the most
Are the ones when I am least aware
Of my own thoughts. No reason to boast
Or be ashamed, I am simply there.
I am playing music at piano keys,
Or writing poems by hand in ink.
Perhaps I feel not aloft on the breeze,
Neither do I in dark depths sink.
I am spending time in the presence
Of those I love, and Love itself,
My very being exists as intense
Creative force, which is my wealth.

Warm Glow

An almost-late offering for Linda’s ekphrastic paint-chip poetry prompt. She provided several beautiful photos for us to choose from, and I decided to write about this one:
(c) 2021 L. Kruschke

Grace Far Surpassed

I wrote this today because today, in the Catholic Church, we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The image below is my favorite painting of Our Lady.

Although in Adam all have stain of sin,
Through Christ abundant life can enter in:
So far beyond what we could think or ask,
Grace far surpassed.

When salvation’s newest phase had begun,
The Father made a mother for His Son:
When the appointed time had come at last,
Grace far surpassed.

Almighty God preserved her from all stain,
Christ’s loving mother Mary we all gained:
The role of the new Eve set to be cast,
Grace far surpassed.

Through the Eyes of Illness

picture by Oleg Oprisco

The Traveler

I wasn’t going to post this, but here it is: an attempt at flash-fiction for FFFC #92. The image is below. I am also sharing this with the Writers’ Pantry.
Side note: I just realized that I have been writing and posting about space a lot lately.