Tag Archives: Odilon Redon

Songs of Always

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Odilon Redon, Orpheus (c.1903-1910)

Songs of Always

Black-blown sky to blue–
the music-seer asks
if dreams are the ships we sail at night
on purple-shadowed seas,
and what are the songs the rocks sing?

He has known storms,
and rain like honey,
sweet with the scent of roses,

he has death-wandered,
emerged to witness
a sparkle-symphony above,
now he whispers love-ballads and lullabies,
star-breathed tunes of time-dazzlers, the rhythms of what is and what might be.

My poem from the Oracle, who, of course, knows the myths of many cultures. Readers sometimes wonder if the image or poem came first. In this case, it was a combination. The Oracle gave me words and phrases, black-blown and blue, if dreams, storms, honey, etc. I used “fiddler” in the my first draft, but as I was writing, the poem seemed to be about Orpheus, so I changed it to music-seer.

Migration

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Odilon Redon, The Boat

Migration

A journey–
indigo sheen above salted grey,
fish-tailed dreams scattered
in the shift of corona-glow–
the notched tally swells
as our bellies shrink,

till light-joy seeps
from the sky’s shadow-seams,
shimmering rays petal-open
in kaleidoscopic array, grounded

before us, a tapestry, a perfumed carpet
sways to wind-breathed song.
No longer lost. This garden, home.

For dVerse, where we are asked to use forms of word play.

March Aubade

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La Naissance de Vénus ( The Birth of Venus ), pastel painting by Odilon Redon ( c. 1912 )

March Aubade

Light like music
the sky sings–
now the fiddler recalls the pink
beneath the crows-wings-clouds,
and you watch the water gleam

far from the madding crowd,
feathers fluff, waves ripple,
nature’s extravagant beauty
in each tiny thing a thousand times,
waking,

asking if, but
you watch the moon smile
and settle onto the river like a ship–
now the shadowed rocks turn rosy,
a key change, the morning song rising.

My message from the Oracle. This one came right away.

The Women who Wait

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Odilon Redon, Illuminated Flower

The Women Who Wait

If I need you,
will you come,
with love-put light
to drive away the smell
of man-sweat and boy-blood?

Here, the storms whip
and the shadows moan
black beneath the blue,
but I ask for—not so much—
roses under a peach sun,
the lifeline of sea, its sparkle, and
the whisper of wind in my hair,
telling me you are coming home.

My poem from the Oracle. I thought at first she wanted me to write about Penelope, but she wanted the message to include women everywhere throughout time.

Whispers Beyond

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Profile of a Woman in the Window by Odilon Redon, 1905-09, pastel on cardboard

Whispers Beyond

I dream in moon-murmurs,
a language smooth and cool
as rain, and if I try, I understand
its meaning,

how after-aches, like storms, bring
a luscious curtain of mist, that once raised
reveals bare boughs, newly clothed in sparkling diamonds,
while shadows dance beneath

still and full of movement,
like a thought, there, gone, twinkling
from beyond–the light of dead stars
time whispers, an endless sea.

My message from the Oracle. It took a bit of work. I’ve had a couple of strange days, and I am catching up on posts and comments.

Aboard the Time Ship, Still Sailing

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Odilon Redon (1840 – 1916),  La Voile jaune (The Yellow Sail)

Aboard the Time Ship, Still Sailing

Am I mad to think
I could stop time,
as crushed rose petals linger
honey-sweet in the night,

if I breathe the scent,
I remember—not mad—
I hear the whispers, a dream-ache
from the stars,

the after-light of tomorrow,
the past glimpsed today,

we together, us
with summer still within,
a song of peach and lemon,
the drumbeat of waves—
not yet and always, ebb and flow.

My message from the Oracle. I suppose I am thinking of the passage of time. The Oracle always knows—today is my older child’s birthday. Our younger child’s birthday was earlier in the week. My husband’s birthday is coming up. A lot of birthdays over the years.

Venus on the Rocks

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La Naissance de Vénus ( The Birth of Venus ), pastel painting by Odilon Redon ( c. 1912 )

Venus on the Rocks

1.
Ask about the drunk goddess–
hair and gown of lathered mist,
no lie—she rose from water
a shimmering, thorned flower, almost eternal.

2.
As the sky sleeps,
the woman wants you
to recall sprays of purple and bitter rust
but the wind moans, I am your mother. Listen.

3.
The sea urged her on,
that is what her friends said,
caught between red-petaled love and shadows below,
she dove. Submerged in a forgotten dream.

4.
The raw rocks have hard milky faces—
but watch—they tell time
in whispered pink, sweet always or never,
siren songs for sailors, symphony in a storm.

5.
Beneath the fiddler’s notes,
you wonder if you understand–
this is moon-language falling like rain,
blood-beauty swimming from the blue, unattainable, but known.

My message from the Oracle. Maybe a cadralor?

Sparkling Imperfection

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Odilon Redon, Head of a Woman

Sparkling Imperfection

I make no resolutions—
for now, my house is cluttered,
my clothes are folded,
or sometimes not.

Yes, ought to, thought to–but
no resolution need be made
to love my children as they are,
without conditions or strings,

they fly on their own capable wings.
while I go on, flawed but mostly happy,
plan what could be,
and strive to enjoy what is

the fizz, the pop,
the joy in every day, marked
with mental asterisks, neuron pin-points,
that twinkle–

sprinkled stars
on life’s textured patches,
pieces in a collage,
messy, but glowing,

growing, then slowing
a full-color work-in-progress. A life.

For Punam’s dVerse prompt on resolutions, she asks us to write a poem inspired by 5 pieces of advice. I found it difficult. I don’t make resolutions, so I hope this satisfies the prompt.

Tree of Dreams

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Odilon Redong, Woman Sleeping Under a Tree

Tree of Dreams

There is an ancient tree
in a secret garden,
white blossoms like pearls adorn
her arms as she reaches to touch
sun and moon.

Here bangs and booms become bird-trills,
each day beats with a new rhythm
green tendrils climb in harmony
and the air is scented with promise.

Ask if I am here,
and I may answer,
this is a place of dreams
caught between bee-breaths
and the falling of a rose petal,
the last echo of violin, a tremolo
in the night. The place where time
is both a wing-flap and endless flight.

The Oracle made me work for this one. I used tiles from two sets, merged, revised, revised again. . .But I guess she approves—because I found the Redon painting above to go with my poem.

I’m sharing this with dVerse Open Link Night.

Between Beats

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Between Beats

Time’s ship sails—
a gorgeous lie

of shifting light and horizons,
but you might ask the wind how it blows

or why? Does the moon stop the storm
when it appears? Behold

the circling of seconds, the remembering
of before becomes after,

in the fast cry of spring—
if could be

the music that soars
above

us. Life-murmuring
in the dark beneath.

My early-morning poem from the Oracle. I used the “new” tiles, which are now located below the original tiles. I guess I haven’t use them for a while. The words seemed somewhat different, and she gave me some interesting phrases, but as usual, this is a collaboration between us. I’m stating that because I saw a post that seemed to equate using words generated online with AI generated-poems. I take some of the words and phrases and write my own poem–the same as using any other word prompt! And even if I took every word from the tiles, I’d still be arranging them into my own poem.