Art – Poetry – John Randell and Lisa Shea

For our 2018 Art & Poetry pairing, one pairing was with artist John Randell and poet Lisa Shea.

Here are the works they created!

John Randell provided this artwork to Lisa:

In response, Lisa wrote the following poem:

Freedom

The world is an interlaced thicket.
A dense, disorienting place of twisting branches and
spiraling moss
all seeking to entwine us.
Ensnare us.
Distract us from our dreams.

But there is always a path through.
A way to zig rather than zag,
to find that clear space,
to stretch our wings,
and fly, fly, fly toward
what will make us whole.

Not the shiny, glittery,
ephemeral trinkets craved
by the magpie.

Not the fluffs of blue string
and brightly colored shells
of the bowerbird.

But the things which bring us true
contentment.
Someone to love. Someone to love us.
A place to call home.
Ample nutritious food.

And the ability to soar.

The second half of this pairing involved Lisa giving John a poem as a starting point. Lisa provided this poem:

Serenity

Easing into downward dog,
my spine crunch-crackles. I unclog
and breathe away the stress and must.
News: Nine million killed by smog.

Starving kids hoard day-old crust,
hole-laced roofing wormed with rust.
I’m pondering my full-fridge state.
World’s roulette is fixed; unjust.

Outside, leafless trees gyrate;
Wintry winds and rain debate.
Here, within, the kittens purr
while seniors ponder empty plate.

Our entry to our world is pure.
Chaos twists as we mature.
Every day we can abjure
and draw each breath to seek a cure.

In response, John created this artwork, a photograph of a tiger heron chick:

2018 Art-Poetry Pairing main page