not possible to gift-wrap oddly shaped objects
the journey’s a maze –
tilted corridors, stairs climbing,
descending in blatant
perspective, a puzzle cube
twisted this way and that
- difficult to see
no passage is alike.
In my Father’s house
a Turk in a surplus US Army
jacket sells pieces of the true cross
near the Duomo. Here’s one,
its grainy whorl a thumb print,
buy it, later lose it in
a drawer with dead batteries.
In my Father’s house
we keep doing our work –
sperm, maggots – passion
and consumption, motion,
footprints fill in, there’s gleaning
and scorching, sorrows appear
and vanish,
love prevails though
corpses become rich black soil
and overnight, mushrooms
come out as unexpected stars
in those dark fields,
there are many mansions
Wanda McCollar
Now THIS was an amazing piece of work! So very dark and twisted...I loved it!
ReplyDeleteExcellent images here, and the connections drawn between them... that fragment of the cross stands out especially. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteHi Wanda,
ReplyDeleteI really like the last two stanzas and the first is an excellent description of the image.
The poem and the picture work nicely together. It is quite dark. Interesting.
ReplyDeletePamela
Your language is so direct and your images so stark -- wonderfuly done.
ReplyDeleteIt comes and goes. Like Escher. Many mansions, many stories. I really enjoyed this!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments, everyone. I am intrigued by the different reactions. Yes - I now see that it could be dark - but that was not my intent. However, who knows what lies in the sub-conscious? Looking at the art work, I meant to explore the confusions in our ordinary lives, our struggles with faith, with direction - to say at the end it is love which must prevail in each life.
ReplyDeleteBut, of course, that's why we all love poetry - any poem can have many different meanings for different people depending on their experiences. This is a poem in progress and I apppreciate your taking time to give me your impressions.
(interestingly, it wouldn't work at all badly with the chair image)
ReplyDeleteI love that verse, at least in the King James. The battery drawer is a great, quirky, touch. The death/mushrooms/stars connection is the one that sticks with you, though