Birthed in a squalid, roach-crawled tenement
Colicked with over-watered dried milk
Toddled through fresh piles of dog sh*t
Schooled by old drunks and the streets
Pimped by her junkie mom
Beaten by her men
Flew from all that
Roosted to heal
Feeling
Free
Free
Feeling
After search
For true spirit
Away from tenets
Towards pre-ordained pathways
Cooed to, hugged, and ahhed over
Wrapped in silks, fed from mother’s breast
Bathed in blessed buddha’s holy waters
Born the seventh son of a seventh son
Today’s offering is in etheree form.
I chose to write to the title, “Convergence” by Jackson Pollock and used narrative mood. I imagine Pollock would be mostly freckles and splashes of various colors of paint and generally messy. The life stories of the two in my narrative started out in life in very different, messy ways; yet somehow their nows have converged. I wrote it where you read the from the top down to the center, then the bottom up to the center. (I only looked at the image of the painting after writing the poem.)
Laura is today’s host for dVerse’ Poetics. Laura says:
- For this Poetics prompt however we begin not with the visuals but with some titles of modern and contemporary abstract art
•A Painter Without a Brush’ (Gerhard Richter)
•Broadway Boogie Woogie (Piet Mondrian))
•Convergence (Jackson Pollock)
•Movement in Squares (Bridget Riley)
•Small Flies and Other Wings (Christine Ay Tjoe,)
Choose ONE title ONLY and write a painterly poem – in other words, paint us a picture that you imagine fits the title.
Hint: think abstract, brush strokes, colour, design, mood, surrealism, texture and engage with it.
Tao Talk 
Fantastic rendering of the prompt….especially with the convergence found in the very formatting of your words themselves, depending on the reading. Just a wonderful response to the prompt!
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Lillian, many thanks to you ❤
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this is really clever at so many levels and reiterates the title brilliantly. Splotches of contrast all over this poem. Bravo!!
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So happy you are pleased by my effort, Laura ❤
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Wowww! 💝 This is brilliantly rendered, Lisa! I love how seamlessly you have incorporated the convergence theme into your etheree 😀
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Thanks, Sanaa. what would be fun is to have a circle of them all pointing to the center and making a big circle.
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The concrete form of the poem focus on the convergence and the text tells of a journey from messy to bliss. so brilliant.
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Very pleased to hear you like it, Bjorn. Thank you.
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Love the butterfly form, the taking wing and flight, the trajectory of freedom from all that defiles. Beautiful, Lisa.
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Dora, so glad you like the form and the content of the poem, thank you.
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Enjoyed your clever etheree poem! It is a type of order out of chaos with the painting, the soul rises beautifully here. 💕
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I like how you see this, Tricia. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it.
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My pleasure! ❤
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The rebirth in the reflection is breath-taking. Great job, Lisa. I love how you deconstruct and then reconstruct.
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So glad to hear your thoughts on this, K. Much appreciated!
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Love the etheree form as well as the contrasting of images between first and second part. That second part particularly evokes of hope and pride.
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Many thanks, Grace, and so happy you enjoyed it.
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My enthusiasm for this brilliant poem cannot be contained …. cannot.
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Helen I am very happy you connected with it, thank you for your wonderful comment.
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The fun and the skill involved in producing this is palpable! Ace!
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Why thank you, Nick 🙂
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This is amazing, Lisa. You’re a true master of the words!
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Thanks much, Christian 🙂
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This is a profound look at life from two angles. Very well written Li
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Thank you, Sadje. I wanted to show that it isn’t just people in dire childhood upbringings that find themselves in messes.
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That’s true.
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masterful word and structure creations that really echo Pollock’s work!
How we start in life does not define us, our choices do …
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Thanks Kate, and I agree!
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It’s a while since I’ve seen an etheree, Lisa, and yours fits the title and the painting so well. I too imagine Pollock as freckles and splashes of colour and generally messy! I love the way the characters’ lives converge to feeling free (“She’s so busy being free”, Cactus Tree, Joni) and that the poem is read in different ways. I bet you had fun writing this!
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Yes I did! I love that Joni song. I’ve been doing a “Women Music March” all month and the first part was influenced by some of the research I did on Billie Holiday. Truly heartrending what her early years brought her.
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I’ve been watching a BBC2 documentary about Billie Holiday. I read a really good book many years ago, but I can’t remember either title or biographer. As you’ve probably worked out, I’m a fan!
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I can’t imagine throwing a 9 year old into reform school. And all the rest that followed. Billie is my featured Women Music March artist tomorrow. I’m not surprised you’re a fan of hers ❤
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This is so clever! First of all you had me cheering for the girl as she got free, then to have her reborn as the seventh son – wow! And the form is perfect for both the title and the rebirth.
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Ingrid I like your take on it, thank you for letting me see with your eyes.
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You’re welcome – I don’t know if I got it right, but that’s where your words took me!
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You know that when a poem is released, it belongs to everyone. There is no right or wrong, the reader puts their finishing touches on it with their view ❤ It very well could be the woman in the top returns as the man in the bottom part!
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I like your mirroring. We often take different paths to the same place. Also true of the abstract expressionist. (K)
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Thank you very much, K.
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The form is perfect for a convergence.
I read this as a son born from a mother’s escape from squalor, finding herself at complete opposites to the life she left behind.
Read completely from top to bottom it could be a divergence, but it’s still two souls that meet at that center.
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Thank you for the feedback on it, Ken, and glad you connect with it. I’m glad your mom was able to get away from it. Many never do.
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I didn’t state that clearly. Not my situation. I was giving my interpretation. 🙂
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Ah ok! Yes that interpretation works great. We don’t know how it works when we leave but it very well could be that those threads (or knots, from Monday’s prompt) are still attached in a meaningful way when we return.
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I like how your poem starts with chaos and ends with order. Convergence can bring us either! Well done Lisa!
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Good point, you are so right, Dwight, depends on which direction the funnel is flowing. Thank you 🙂
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Yes!
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This is rich, and I lovr the way your piece converges then expands!. A beautiful write Lisa. I’ve been sidelined by my flaring arthritic fingers, so I am late reading everyone’s work.
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Rob, I wondered where you were! Have you heard from Glenn? I’m starting to get worried about him. Glad you enjoyed the poem, thank you.
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A true convergence superbly written!
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Thanks much, Sara 🙂
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Gorgeous. I watched a movie with the 7th son of a 7th son. So I loved that bit there too.
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Many thanks to you, Jude.
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Such a pleasure
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