LUNATIC

It is said that all mortals live in the inner celestial sphere.... the sphere of the moon. We are subject to all her moods, her dreams, her dark broodings. People in such a state, & that includes all of us, are thus considered “lunatics” or creatures influenced by the moon. I subscribe to Mr. Jung’s theories... we all are mixed of different balances of the male & the female... the anima & the animus. The moon for me is clearly the female. The sun is clearly the male. The moon gives me my intuition & my lifelong melancholy. If I have every written poetry of any lasting value it was always under the influence of the phases of the moon. I toast the moon with pale green Absinthe, with Chartreuse & Cloudberry Gin. I am a lunatic of the highest order. That is what keeps me sane.

CORONA

At the moment of eclipse a miracle occurs. The moon becomes encircled by a corona. A coronation occurs. Like the crown of thorns around the head of the Man. Like the halo round the head of a Seraphim. In the noonday, at a time far from dreams, we are compelled to look up into the skies... to remember the stars. A darkness comes over the land. The first page reoccurs...."The earth was formless & empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep"..."Let there be light....& there was light". The ever present miracle of Creation... the Universe being created, from the void,  this very instant. A coronation occurs. You & I are anointed with light. Again & again!

Ah Sunflower

AH SUNFLOWER

Ah Sunflower, weary of time,

Who countest the steps of the sun;

Seeking after that sweet golden clime

Where the traveller's journey is done;

Where the youth pined away with desire,

And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,

Arise from their graves, and aspire

Where my Sunflower wishes to go!

WILLIAM BLAKE

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN

Eclipse! Eclipse! The sun has swallowed moon.

I left our secret room for just one hour.

I sought to fetch you William’s sunny flower.

The night of sighs had opened up to noon.

Alone, outside, without your felt embrace,

Amnesia seeps between love’s web-like seams.

I know our bond was built with oaken beams,

But darkness strange engulfs the work day place

& if I leave this world of dreams too soon,

The Aztec clock on heaven’s axis tower

Predicts no doubt about the sky’s sure grace:

The light that pours is one, not separate streams.

Eclipse of sun is moon’s encircled one.

My heart! Your heart! The moon becomes the sun.

VIRGIN GODDESS OF THE MOON

The Moon’s Austere Command  (for Kat February 14 2013)

The oceans rise at moon’s austere command

& I, no less, am stirred by your embrace. 

For you, my love, lift veils to show your face.

The clouds unfurl, reveal our secret land.

& if the moon, the virgin queen of dreams 

Can frost the fiery sheets on which we lie,

In coils & strokes & licks of shuddered sigh,

Our burning love, my sweet’s not what it seems.

The breeze by which our passion’s flame is fanned

Will ebb away & let the night erase.

The path of light upon the water gleams.

That steadfast source is true & cannot die.

The moon, the moon - she bathes our darkened room.

Her silver seals the everlasting tomb.

GLASS ARROW

THE CHALLENGE: PAINT GLASS MOVING THROUGH WATER. How do we perceive light? How do we know the difference between water & glass. If the arrow stayed still there might be planes that refract & reflect differently. But we would likely notice no difference. With movement we see the difference. The purity of glass moving through the purity of water. I believe in GRACE. Grace is beauty in time.... beauty in movement. We call our esteemed leaders... "Your Grace"... because with great, noble leadership time itself becomes beautiful. We speak of God's grace because in the movement of time we see the beauty of the spirit as it moves through eternity & stirs our spirits to pierce through the veils of mortality. The Glass Arrow moves through the crystal clear water... sends shivers to our very core.

THE PAINTING WITHIN THE PAINTING WITHIN...

Reality is a hall of mirrors. Each level is one more possibility. The human mind unfolds in all directions like a tesseract. Try to understand the space-time continuum. You will begin to see what I am getting at. Shakespeare nailed it with Hamlet’s play within a play. It is very convenient & comforting to simply glide along like a Magpie in the one and only world. As soon as you add thought you step back. You observe you observing the Magpie. It unfolds from there. Add memory, dreams, ideologies & the knowledge that there will be a future time. The dimensions open up like an origami lotus. I call this painting Juicy Fruit because what is better than a stick of gum? Step back. Think about it.