Said the Painter

sadie

Upon the mossy stones I dwelt,
I did, and was, and painting felt
An arch and angel bend to speak,
Their sainted tones my brush to seek.

And why such was, I could not say,
But much they wrought, and taught that day:
O hush of strife, unsought by me,
O rush of life, unbought and free.

(Sadie Valeri, Director of Sadie Valeri Atelier, San Francisco, painting in Rome, Italy)

 

 

Elizabeth

elizabeth_stream

Space of bright, an even stream,
Water stone proportionate,
None engaged of argument,
Water clean and stone of gleam.

Spell of mellow, stream of true,
Gentle song unshallow flew.

(Photo by David Garland)

 

 

 

Gentle Floods

dolores-photo

Rippled muds, a small cascade,
Gentle floods of water played,
Summer stalling, Autumn strayed,
And unforgotten thunder bade

The winding stream to call to me,
When kindly falling toward the Sea.

(Photo by DoloresNice-Siegenthaler)

 

 

 
Neal Dachstadter is a poet living in Tennessee.  His work has been printed in Decanto Poetry Magazine (UK), Western Viewpoints and Poetic Images: the Great American West (Woodinville, Washington), Society of Classical Poets Journal 2015 (Mt Hope, New York), Rocky Point Times (Puerto Peñasco, Mexico) and The Lyric (Jericho, Vermont).  A member of the Demosthenian Literary Society at the University of Georgia, he deployed to Hawija, then wrote on Lookout Mountain, continuing with Delta Kappa Epsilon International.  Berkeley, Ann Arbor, and Athens encouraged him as a writer.  In 2015 he wrote in Arizona at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument five miles north of Mexico.


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8 Responses

  1. Aesthetic

    It’s always pleasing to see the way image and word are paired by the Society.

    Reply
  2. Michael

    “…Rippled muds, a small cascade,
    Gentle floods of water played,…”

    –and other lovely lines like these…

    Reply
    • Neal Dachstadter

      Thanks Michael. Compelling photograph, it really seemed to announce itself.

      Reply
    • Neal Dachstadter

      Thanks Elizabeth, the photo of the artist painting in front of the scene touched on some universals.

      Reply
  3. Ruth Asch

    Neal, you have an ear for the beautiful, as well as an eye; the blend of sounds and rhythm in these poems is evocative and well balanced. Each short poem is refreshing in theme and tone… a pleasure to read.

    Reply
    • Neal Dachstadter

      Ruth, thank you for the fine expression of encouragement. I’ll put it to good use.

      Reply
  4. I live in Ireland and published my first poetry collection in 2016 'The Best Things In Life Are Free'

    “Rippled muds, a small cascade”… I can see it clearly!”:-)

    Reply

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