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Said the Painter
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)
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Elizabeth
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)
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Gentle Floods
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)
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Alec Ream is a writer living in Virginia. His poetic work and creative fiction have been widely published. A member of the Demosthenian Literary Society at UGA, he wrote on Lookout Mountain, and continued to write, lecture and work for Delta Kappa Epsilon HQ. He was first published reading to the pledge class of Michigan DKE, in Ann Arbor in 2008. Recently, his poem Green Fire was read at the Washington Literary Society & Debating Union at UVA.
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It’s always pleasing to see the way image and word are paired by the Society.
“…Rippled muds, a small cascade,
Gentle floods of water played,…”
–and other lovely lines like these…
Thanks Michael. Compelling photograph, it really seemed to announce itself.
“Said The Painter” lulled me gently a bit like the rhythm of “Now I lay me down to sleep…” Pure pleasure!
Thanks Elizabeth, the photo of the artist painting in front of the scene touched on some universals.
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.
Ruth, thank you for the fine expression of encouragement. I’ll put it to good use.
“Rippled muds, a small cascade”… I can see it clearly!”:-)