Thursday, June 25, 2015

mother tongue


Inspired by and written for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads' Word Count with Mama Zen.


Here's the poem, by itself:

The worm is the mother tongue,
the origin of Man. The hiss that spits
our enemies, sets our fears aflame. Through fire
we rise, the power of ash in our fists.

This is what we have to give: a hand
with a knife, ill-hid.



And here's the painting, by itself:


The painting was my way of dealing with an insane finals week... I felt as if I were trapped in a burning room watching my own skin sizzle away while just off in a corner, beyond the blinds, was a world that might still be untouched. As with most of my work, it contains some found objects/mixed media elements. The curtain hanger is a chopstick, held in place by a few bolts I found. The window is framed by pieces of rusted metal. The blinds are words I tore out of an old, decrepit, almost unsalvageable book. The twisty device and the frame are tea packets, and a small mushroom bead acts as the pully thing. I then painted over it with the frenetic madness of a hummingbird on crack. (& I kinda like the results!)

12 comments:

Jim said...

I'm liking everything with this post, Dianne. Your poem puts me in mind of John Morrison (The Doors). I love his song, "Light My Fire".
I like the 'painting' too, it has real depth. The red streams seem to be cheap beads glued to the backing. Am I right? The effect is great, the placement carefully placed looks casually laid.
Political science was fun for me, I have a minor in it, along with math, for my Bachelor's (Economics). We took a Norway cruise this spring, leaving from Harwich, U.K. There were several offshore windmill farms that we saw leaving the U.K. A retired power "expert" said that is about the only place the Brits don't mind having windmills (officially wind turbines).
..

Sweeper of Dreams said...

Hi, Jim, thank you! The red streams are actually paint - I do a lot of pointillism, I suppose. But that's a lovely effect none-the-less.

Bless you for both those minors, sir, and how's that BA treating you? My friends who went the econ route seem to be doing much better than we poli sciers.

I actually started researching wind power (and protests over it) while interning for Plaid Cymru at the National Assembly for Wales - UK citizens seem to like windmills even less than US citizens. Amazing that you'd pick that up in a conversation, eh? Cheers!

Gillena Cox said...

Wow! very creative piece, luv how you honed your emotions into this one,

Much love...

Kerry O'Connor said...

Yours is such a creative response. I like the abstract nature of the piece, and the succinct use of words in delivering the message.

Anonymous said...

Like the poem and the painting very much

hedgewitch said...

Intense and immediate are the first words that leap to mind--one can feel that searing fire, which when we pass through it, changes us forever. Excellent mixed media as well.

Rosemary Nissen-Wade said...

I think both poem and painting are brilliant - especially combined.

Maude Lynn said...

Oh, this is gorgeous, both the poem and the painting!

C.C. said...

"the power of ash in our fists"---such strong and vivid imagery here. I love the painting too!

brudberg said...

I feel humbled to link up beside such a piece of art. both in words and images.. bringing out the classic story with such weight .. what have man really done well?

grapeling said...

powerful, both pen and painting ~

kaykuala said...

Wonderful write Dianne! You very appropriately used the given words in a smooth and flowing sequence!

Hank