For our 2019 Art & Poetry pairing, one pairing was with poet Lisa Shea and artist Liz Decasse.
Here are the works they created!
Liz Decasse provided this artwork to Lisa:
In response, Lisa wrote the following poem:
Phrases swirl inside my head,
they gambol, flit, and spin.
They fall from line and roughly shred;
my stanchions buckle thin.
I strive to force an ordered march
To snap thoughts into line.
They tumble, somersault, and arch.
Wrench apart. Untwine.
I struggle, reach for common ground –
A way to bridge the gap.
But every thought just circles ‘round
its never-ending lap.
Temptation calls to draw a halt,
resign, admit defeat.
But hope lifts in its golden vault
Drum renews its beat.
…
The second half of this pairing involved Lisa giving Liz a poem as a starting point. Lisa provided this poem:
Absent
She sees.
She sees a.
She sees a woman walking past.
She reaches out a hand but
it’s cold, so cold,
and it’s too late, anyway.
The woman hurries by,
fur coat pulled tight.
She’d been good at school, once.
Straight As.
Destined for Greatness,
Miss P always said.
But she grew up
and out
and Daddy’s bedtime stories
spoke in tongues.
Cotton muffled the voices.
And now, the couple said
nothing at all
as they hurried past,
eager not to miss
the opening curtain.
…
In response, Liz provided this artwork:
2019 Art-Poetry Pairing main page