“Roots” 1943 by Frida Kahlo
Winged angel eyes
beam from a young crone’s face;
mute proclamation
that she’s planted. Her
grounded consciousness
reaches up and out, giant’s stalks to climb,
vines that stretch and root in once barren fields
Winged angel eyes
behold as forest rise
symphony of trees
temper arid breeze
See! Clouds come — it rains.
Verses fall and rise as desert recedes,
the crone wind blows and cracks are filled with seeds.
Matlalcueye means “owner of the green skirt”
What a wonderful image to write to!
Today’s offering is my first attempt at a Duodora form poem.
Carrie is today’s host of The Sunday Muse.
This is beautiful! ❤️
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Helene, Frida is a wonderful inspiration, thank you ❤
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What a gorgeous form Lisa! A Duodora, I will have to try that one day! I love the symphony of trees in this and cracks filled with seeds. A lovely and deep poem Lisa!
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Carrie, I saw someone use the form last week and thought that is one I want to try. You picked a perfect image to try it out on. Thank you!
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Interesting form, well done. Great sense of promise in the last stanza of the rain and seeds in the cracks!
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Thank you, Beverly. I’m trying to imagine how talented Frida was to be able to paint herself like this. She’s a real inspiration.
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Oh I LOVE that closing line!!!!!!!
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❤ Glad you connect with it, Sherry, thanks!
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Love it, from the intriguing title to the sense of the poem, very nice.
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Thank you 🙂
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This is a beautiful interpretation of the painting Lisa. ☺️🌺
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Thank you, Christine ❤
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I always learn something new from you Lisa. A poetry form and a word – Matlalcueye. Such a creative interpretation – great writing.
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Thank you and happy to help 🙂
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A wonderful response Jade. You made good use of both form and image. I love the way Frida so often gives herself roots and branches. (K)
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Thank you, Kerfe. I haven’t paid that much attention to her paintings but good to know. I usually can’t get past her eyebrows. Thankfully she allowed me to see angel wings when I began the poem yesterday.
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“mute proclamation
that she’s planted.”
Fitting, given the image.
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🙂 I love the image, there is something very grounded about it, pun intended.
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Thank you! I’ve always enjoyed this place. B&W changes the vibe.
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Oops, wrong image!
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Definitely Kahlo’s image is grounded.
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🙂
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“mute proclamation / that she’s planted.”!!! “Her / grounded consciousness / reaches up and out, / Giant’s stalks to climb,”!!! That is terrific! The whole thing, but wanted to call those out especially.
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q, I’m very happy it pleases you. Thank you.
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Always interesting to read a new poetry form
Luv the phrase winged angel eyes
Happy Sunday
Much❤love
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Gillena, glad you enjoyed the form and the poem. Happy Sunday!
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Love how you saw vines / stalks there for the climb. Also I am inspired to try this form … “Crone” is one of my favorite words.
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Thanks much, Helen. I also love the word crone. There is such magic and power in it.
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Love this! It feels very much like reading through a meditation and invites continued reading.
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🙂 Thank you for the wonderful comment. Glad you connected with it, Wyndolynne.
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Love this…It reads like a spirit psalm of praise for growing and turning her piece of earth green. Beautiful
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Thank you, Susie. Matlacueye was a Mexican goddess and that was one of her tasks.
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You did well with the Duodora form, Ms. Lili. I would like to try one, now if I can just remember. I’ll save the link on my Galaxy S8 smart phone. When I copy a page it tells me the link to the article from which it came.
The line, “giant’s stalks to climb” leads us to thinking of “Jack and the Beanstalk”, at least it does me. Maybe she’ll go there next, for sure you can have her go there.
..
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Thanks much, Jim. Hoping you do try the duodora form. I like that it has some rhyming, some short and long lines, and some repetition. Yes, the stalks are where you can climb 🙂
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Gorgeous poetry. I’d love to try this form.
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Thank you. I wish you would!
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