Battle of the gods that have been transformed
painting by Ernst Fuchs
wikiart.org
There are gods
that have been changed
from supermen,
kings and queens
with royalty and vanity
in their veins
to falcons, lions
and unspeakable beasts
lording over their worlds;
but changed as well
to children,
little boys and girls
battling with sticks,
swords and words
for candy corn and treats
on the playing fields
of Tartarus and Elysium -
hardly transformed
gods will be gods
after all.
The Tyranny of Time
painting by William Higginson
higginsongallery.com
In the confinement of space
I am a prisoner of illusion
and chained to my fate
a supplicant without privilege
or a will of my own
bound by a tyrants greed
for allegiance, obedience
and love.
It decrees, I obey
It flows with inexorable speed,
I follow in tow;
Its music is struck
by the plectrum in my hand
at war with the warp of time
I draw my sword.
Time, a tyrant , absolute,
without emotion,
indulgence or sympathy
and I a captive of its law.
Separation in the Evening
painting by Paul Klee
wikiart.org
As separate beings
but for our limbs entwined
our lips together
we think of others
like Orpheus and Eurydice
Leda and the swan
who came before
in another time
as we imagine the ecstasy
of might-have-been
in this moment
when we are coupled
with our separate thoughts.
Summer Madness
painting by Cy Twombly
wikiart.org
Madness is just another turn of phrase
a simile hung up to dry
like old clothes
and the skins of slaughtered sheep
on cat-gut wire
Like the scent of heat
rising from bricks and cobblestones
like the shapes of love
and their infinite words
repeated time and time again
from balconies and alleyways
like the messages
told in the chatter of stars
like a vision in a vision
of a disembodied face
like the summer
madness comes and goes
an uninvited guest who arrives
when he pleases and stays too long.
Bacchus
painting by Elaine de Kooning
wikiart.org