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I started, abandoned, and started over with this poem several times, trying out different forms. I settled on the ballad form using tetrameter and a (mostly) abcb rhyme scheme. The initial image is of so-called “age spots,” something that many of us tend be embarrassed about or try hard to hide or eliminate.
Here, I’m challenging myself to reframe these kinds of natural changes as facets of the whole miraculous life cycle itself, rather than lamenting them as our culture encourages us to do.
The art in this post has a similar story. It started out as a 9x9 square. I worked on it through several layers and couldn’t find a compositional balance, and I nearly threw it into the trash in frustration. Instead, I cropped it into the 5x8 rectangle you see below - a literal “reframing” that I think works much better! The butterfly, of course, is the ultimate symbol of transformation.
>> If you like butterflies, check out my Summer butterfly art collection.
Time
Across a ridge of collarbone,
I count the tiny flecks of time:
a strange inverted constellation,
stars that dim instead of shine.
They guide me toward an underworld
where birch and willow branches weave.
I picture them in fantasies
and soon I’ll sleep beneath their leaves.
I blink, my lashes feathery,
my skin a living almanac
recording moons and thunderstorms
to dance the final act.
Summer series. 5 x 8 inches. Mixed media on paper. 2024
The Summer collection of butterfly paintings is now available for sale!
Beautiful poem. I love all the evocative sensory images!!