49

Guernica by Pablo Picasso; image from google dot com



PICASSO-SQUE MOUTHS
when they scrape the carcass
freshly butchered off the streets
of hatred
and i have to read and i have to watch
newsreel and newsprint
the picasso-sque mouths of mothers
and fathers gaping in horror
and the marrow in my
bones gash and shudder
cause no more is there brother
or brother or sister
then only the words of a song
or the words of a prayer
hones my sorrow
urging me to carry on yet
© gillena cox





Written for the prompt today at
Poems In April DAY ELEVEN 'A Message from the Little Grandmother'

April is the month of the Pink Moon. This Moon has a dark star, which shines across the abyss, reminding us that we are made of the same stuff as the stars. That's what keeps us looking up, into the heavens, feeling our connection to the unfathomable beauty and mystery of the spheres.
CHALLENGE: Write about how you manage to maintain that balance, how you hold onto the beauty and the hope. Write about what heals you...

48

DEAR GRANDPA
Your magical fingers still echo, in the memory of today, and tomorrow.
A lovely wire planter, you so skillfully wrought, like the song of a sparrow,
Holds the beauty and sincere fragrance of a desert rose. Petals furl as if waving,
Waving to heaven, only because you are there abiding.
You are there, savouring this poem, and every word written, against a flawless
Background, of blue birds and ground doves, grackles and kiskadees. Chorus,
From heaven’s abode; candied into sweet soft whispers, so tender and true,
Of knowing you’re fine, and i love you
© gillena cox




Written for the prompt today at
Poems In April DAY TEN - Dear Past, Dear Future
CHALLENGE: Think about your ancestors. Think about your future descendants. Write a letter to either or both. Word count is wide open.

47

The Crucifixion by Jan van Eyck (1390 - 1441). Flemish painter


She is shielded in grief
A destined maiden she
How will Mary be comforted
Of her dear son Jesus departed

Stone, heavier than the weight
Of sins; lightly shifted stone
Revealeth then angelic might
For devotion's pity sight

New Jerusalem is written awaits
What hope behold this city new
And what about seeing eyes of doubt
Does resurrection consider such clout
© gillena cox



Written for the prompt today at
Poems In April DAY NINE - words vs pictures
CHALLENGE: to combine words and art...to pen a poem about a piece of art that moves us. It can be something famous, something a child made for you or a loved one, or it can be a carved bar of soap. It just has to move you in a profound way. Your poem will gives us insight to the 'why'!...give credit to the artist selected.



...

The Crucifixion and Last Judgement diptych (or Diptych with Calvary and Last Judgement) consists of two small painted panels attributed to the Early Netherlandish artist Jan van Eyck, with areas finished by unidentified followers or members of his workshop. This diptych is one of the early Northern Renaissance oil on panel masterpieces, renowned for its unusually complex and highly detailed iconography, and for the technical skill evident in its completion. It was executed in a miniature format; the panels are just 56.5 cm (22.2 in) high by 19.7 cm (7.8 in) wide. The diptych was probably commissioned for personal and private devotion….
Along with Robert Campin and later Rogier van der Weyden, Van Eyck revolutionised the approach towards naturalism and realism in Northern European painting during the early to mid 15th century. He was the first to manipulate oils to give the close detailing that infused his figures with the high degree of realism and complexity of emotion seen in this diptych. He coupled this with a mastery of glaze to create luminous surfaces with a deep perspective—most noticeable in the upper portion of the Crucifixion panel—which had not been achieved before...
The Crucifixion panel comprises three horizontal planes, each representing different moments from the Passion. The upper third shows the crucifixion before a view of Jerusalem; the lower two thirds detail the crowds and Jesus' followers at Golgotha (Place of the Skull). Located outside the city walls amongst rock tombs and gardens, in the first century Golgotha was Jerusalem's place of execution, and the visible patches of hill highlight the area's "stony, forbidding, and lifeless" nature. The atmosphere of bleakness is reinforced by the random figures in the upper ground that scramble for a better view. The gospels tell of Jesus' followers and relatives, as well as his prosecutors and assorted spectators, attending the crucifixion at Golgotha. In van Eyck's panel the former are represented in the foreground, while the latter, including High Priests and Temple Elders, are shown in the mid-ground.
The centre foreground shows a group of five mourners, with three other figures set to the right and left. In the center group, John the Evangelist supports the Virgin Mary, surrounded by three women. Mary's dramatic swoon in grief pushes her forward in the pictorial space, and according to Smith, places her "closest to the viewer's presumed position". Dressed in an enveloping blue robe that hides most of her face, she collapses and is caught by John, who supports her by her arms. Mary Magdalene kneels to the right, dressed in a white-trimmed green robe and red sleeves. Raising her arms aloft, she clenches her fingers in a distraught, agonised manner. She is the only figure from this group shown to look directly at Christ and serves as one of the key painterly devices to direct the viewer's gaze upwards towards the crosses. from Wikipedia

46

image 'Purple Heaven' by Ryse95 courtesy Deviant Art



PURPLE EVER
I am never at the end of this journey
Merely a passer by in your time surely
Purple ever, the colour of snow and sky
One has only to nod and never to sigh
Shirring sounds echo, mimicking helicopters
Shhh, shhhh music is never to loud for ears
Inverted into exactly one million cells airs
Beautiful melodies for two-feet tapping
Loud is omitted from every word art mapping
Energy abounds and seasons flow in symmetry
© gillena cox




Written in response to the prompt at Poetry Jam 'Impossibility'

45

OF ANCESTORS
one of these days, i’ll write about that place,
of my ancestors; that place of clouds canopy,
gilded, tasselled, canopy of jewelled nectars;
here they call them stars, nectars flow forth,
from the tips of radiance, spilling forth gods,
whose shape and form, gods only know of;
humans have yet to discover beauty of eternity
a life time sphere; eternity exists for the pleasure
of the one they refer to as good, pleasure he
spelled from the breath of his vast milky way;
not the way we read a poem, oh no not like that
how then? dont ask me that, i cannot tell; will Alice?
who Alice? she doesn't hesitate, when to eat or follow;
i’ll follow him then; who? whom? will you follow when?
enough! when is enough? tis not for pondering, this;
tis for sheer fantasy this, so read on;
if only i did continue on to write, and write,
and write those thoughts, of ancestors. there
is no colour in this po..e...m there is only sparkle.


Written for the prompt today at
Poems In April DAY SEVEN - The Tuesday Platform, a prompt-free poem, today anything goes....

Monday WRites - 6

image from google


You've heard about the Monday Blues ❧✿❧ well this is Monday WRites (musing on the definition here of rite, as any customary observance or practice eg the rite of afternoon tea).
Welcome to Monday WRites #6; whats your mood today ❧✿❧ my poem today is a cinquain; 2.4.6.8.2 syllable form ❧✿❧ I invite you to link in with one of your WRites

the stars
are far away yes
my grand child told me so
she is just two going on three
sweetheart
© gillena cox

GRAB MY BUTTON
<br /> <a href="http://myblog-verses.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0C9WPzL5kFEY1gEitLn4bC5inZjfq2beowWitvrD3zLruIRMxxj1RyrHw6Xcd6SlmEASrTd6rLFn4mfF8D8XC5Mz4ASE8iblAAmc3uaKNuHtYgvzIWajyH64D6kzlwugaU8wP610yKLRq/s320/button2Monday+WRites.jpg" alt="verses" /></a><br />



I Wrote in response to the prompt today at
Poems In April Seeing Stars - Sixth Day of National Poetry Month


oh and i luvvvvv this, hope you enjoy ❧✿❧ HAPPY EASTER MONDAY

43

EMPTIED
ah yes a tomb, entombed, non too soon;
for words, presaged this death, divinely ordered;
love takes; well, as we know it;
so who gives of his only, hard to explain

she was struck not by a rock, words from winged ones;
“He is not here, he is risen, go tell Peter and the others”
© gillena cox 2015




Written for the prompt today at
Poems In April DAY FIVE

THE CHALLENGE
The rules for this prompt are simple: write a poem or piece of prose in precisely 55 words.
The optional extra for this challenge is to include a reference to any aspect of Easter in your poem.