Straight From the Source
I follow lines. Curves and angles
may draw my eye, but always
bring me back to lines. An arc,
a tangent, the shadow of a cornice
cannot conceal details, divert direction.
A hairpin may reverse direction
but always takes me forward.
Each one speaks to me, waits
to meet the page, carbon to fiber,
or the screen, pixels in a lattice,
forming lines that tell the story
of the lines that inspire me.
Off prompt for Day 15 at napowrimo.net, but still on track to write at least a poem a day in April for National/Global Poetry Writing Month 2021.
Ken G.
Shared with Open Link #290 – Live Edition at dVerse ~ Poets Pub.
~ Day 15 ~
Image source: Wikimedia Commons – cornice of Imperial palace on The Palatine Hill in Rome
rivrvlogr 
Wow, this really pulls a chord deep within me, Ken. I don’t fully understand, but I feel I can relate.
-David
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Thank you, David. Any time I’m out with the camera, I’m watching for lines, angles, curves. That can be architecture or a sculpture. It can be the limbs of a tree, or the lines in a leaf. I’m just as likely to frame a picture around the details in a section of a building as I am to take a wider angle photo. Sometimes those observations will lead to a poem, or simply I line I can use later.
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It was so good to hear you read this. Rob asked you if you were an architect. I thought of photography and abstract art. I am keenly aware of the geometry of the environment.
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Thank you, Glenn. I missed Robs question. No. Never an architect.
Yes, the geometry of the environment, whether man-made or natural.
I had a quick look at your minimalist photo group, and I definitely plan to go back.
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You blew my socks off with this one, Ken! Brilliant, brilliant imagery and the reference to “A hairpin may reverse direction,” and then adding that it always takes you forward. Kudos! 💖💖
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🙂 Thank you, Sanaa. 🙂
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Each one speaks to me, waits
to meet the page
what a wonderful synthesis of creativity! (K)
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Thank you!
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Incredible, Ken – and extremely well read! A multi-listen – a keeper!
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Thanks, Jazz! 😀
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I bet you can follow those lines with your eyes closed. Nice to hear you read this. Your face has so much more color in it than it did before.
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Thank you, Lisa. I feel much better.
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You are welcome.
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I believe in photos and painting both it is is the hard lines that draw your in. Even in abstracts, the lights and darks become the lines even though there is none there!
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I’d imagine it’s one of the first things you look for when painting.
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Brilliant. What with the hairpin doing that and still taking you onward, forward —love it. And the way my mind melds words into the image — the one I want to see, really (does this make me a con-artist?) I saw hope as the force that keeps us all going forward.
Well, that’s the state your poem put me in. Love it. Just brilliant. Thanks for sharing. Loved the resonance of your voice too. Ah! Thanks. Keep going. I wish you miracles (you already know that 😉)
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Thank you.
We each have our own motivations, and yes, what may appear to be an obstacle is also a part of the path forward, so hope is essential.
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I enjoyed listening to you read your geometric poem last night, Ken, and all over again this morning, although it wasn’t so resonant in my voice. I like the wordplay in the title and the way you portray your love of photography without actually naming it in the poem, especially in the lines:
‘Each one speaks to me, waits
to meet the page, carbon to fiber,
or the screen, pixels in a lattice,
forming lines that tell the story
of the lines that inspire me.’
It’m so pleased that you are feeling better.
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🙂 Thank you, Kim. Even just looking out the window at home I can see a shape in the space between the branches of a tree or watch a bird’s weaving flight and something unrelated pops into my mind, an idea for a possible poem.
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Following lines and working with them is a big part of the creative process.
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For myself, maybe it’s like a brief window of contemplation – a stimulation that sparks word association that can be totally unrelated to the subject being viewed.
It’s definitely not meditation – my mind is almost never blank, although I certainly can be “tongue-tied” when it comes to writing comments! I swear, sometimes I put as much effort into leaving a comment on someone’s poem as I do in writing my own poetry, which itself isn’t always successful.
Oops, that was a real tangent, wasn’t it!
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Not at all Ken, I am very interested in how the creative process works for others. I know what you mean about comments, sometimes I struggle, especially when tired!
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I have a photo essay I did once on lines, which this started to evoke for me; then I started thinking this is like my thought process when writing, and then I realized, oh this is /Ken’s/ thought process when writing.
I can be a little slow on the uptake sometimes.
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Fascinating poem Ken. Your reading yesterday was quite engaging.
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Thanks, Rob.
To your question at Open Mic… Architect?
No, just intrigued by buildings.
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I think it is amazing how humans so easily can find the lines, but struggle with curves and arcs….
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It’s all there, waiting to be seen.
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