A Painter Without a Brush
No canvas could hold the thoughts that race through my mind,
the scenes that never play out as I consider alternative
after alternative. While a poet might take pen in hand,
write the words to express the confusion and mayhem
that fills his mind, do I dare take brush to canvas
when even my finished thoughts are never really complete?
This poem is my response to Poetics: The Poet as Painter, the prompt from Laura Bloomsbury at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use one of five suggested painting titles as inspiration for a poem, without looking at the artwork. An added challenge is to write a second part to the poem as an ekphrastic after viewing the artwork. I have chosen “A Painter Without a Brush,” by Gerhard Richter, which actually is a link to “ABSTRAKTES BILD, 1987,” an abstract by Richter using his signature squeegee technique that is a diptych (two panels meant to be side-by-side) of immense size. The short film about Richter and his technique can be found here: Gerhard Richter: The Painter Without a Brush.
Today has been a day of disjointed thoughts for me – from looking for misplaced items (I just had that a minute ago!) to arriving at the grocery store with my shopping list still sitting on the kitchen table, to realizing my tea had been steeping for a half-hour, to stopping mid-thought to retrieve the item I’d misplaced earlier. All with a little procrastination thrown in. Although not my typical day, it’s held a bumper crop of typical ADD moments. Thus, this poem. I admit that I was aware of Richter as an abstract artist before reading this prompt, so that may have played into the writing of this. After viewing the painting, I don’t know how I could add to the poem.
To make matters worse, my first three attempts to link this went back to the dVerse prompt. I had to close my browser to clear my clipboard cache. It’s just been one of those days!
Nice work, Ken. (Sorry you had so much trouble linking up). I just opted to choose one, stare at it until I felt moved to write, and….write. I admire your approach. Very brave.
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Thanks, Ron. The title lent itself to the moment.
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Well, it may have taken a few twists and turns …. but the poem is wonderful and would have been a shame to miss. Yes, take up the brush.
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Thank you, Helen. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Interesting process – interesting to think of parallels/contrasts between poetry and paintings – both require a canvas of sorts and ink/paint of sorts … except that poetry can be spoken and never recorded. I suppose an image can be spoken and never seen? Both lend themselves to subsequent revisions …
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Thank you, Jazz. They do have parallels. Even those revisions are limited, once published/framed.
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You did this challenging title justice. Sorry for your ADD domino day.
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Thank you, Lisa. 🙂
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You’re welcome.
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Sounds like you lived the painting today, and I think your poem matches the mood of the painting as well. I see frustration in the painting, the need to speak the unspeakable. It’s powerful! ❤
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Thank you. Yes, and it still can be viewed objectively, in a way that allows one to find sense in chaos.
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Very true!
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Hooray, I finally got here! Glad I did; your frustrating day emerged in this ekphrastic poem without the aid of a brush. I know that you mean by that last line. 😊
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Thanks, Kim. (And for your persistence!)
Focus is the key. We actually, remembering to focus!
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Great job (despite the mishaps of the day)
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Thanks, Ron. Notes and a calendar are my friends. When I remember to use them. 🙂
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I love the way you’ve captured both the painting and your day. I think maybe a lot of us have had this chaotic aura surrounding us for awhile now. (K)
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Thanks, Kerfe.
I know I don’t mind blaming it on recent events. 😉
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the question at the end sums it all up!
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Thank you!
And thank you for the prompt.
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This is gorgeously rendered! The poem matches the mood of the painting precisely as though lending a voice to the brushstrokes. I especially love; “do I dare take brush to canvas when even my finished thoughts are never really complete?”💝 I think you would do wonders with it 🙂
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Merci beaucoup!
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What a fine question you pose at the end: ‘do I dare take brush to canvas
when even my finished thoughts are never really complete?’
I never really thought about ‘finished thoughts’ before, but now you have drawn my attention to it it is true they are never complete.
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Thank you, Ingrid. Thoughts, opinions and perspectives are always evolving. Sometimes, mine come out of the blue. When they go right back in, as mine often do, it means fishing them back out. Sometimes I get a bite. Other times I just have to wait for them to come back around. And yes, even when finished they are still evolving.
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We all have days such as you describe, and the result might be a painting without a brush! Well worded, Ken!
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Thank you, Beverly. 🙂
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I would actually dare to answer your question with:
You need questions to do a good poem or painting, not answers.
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I agree. I agree that poetry is about finding answers.
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very well done. I love “no canvas can hold the thoughts.” My mother (a painter) once told me that words could not convey what she needed to say, only her brushes could.
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That makes sense. Eye of the artist.
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Sorry you had so much trouble linking up.
I agree with you: my finished thoughts are never really complete. Abstract paintings are the best for me.
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Thank you. Yes, thoughts always open to interpretation.
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Your captured the chaos from the title, Ken. I like your ending. The fatal flaw of painting is going back thinking, I just need to tweek this or touch that!!
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Thanks, Dwight.
I’ve heard it said that most poems are never really finished.
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That is true of painting also!
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Poems may never be truly finished, but I hope your day came to a calmer end.
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And it did! Thank you.
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