In some ways, writing a book of poems is similar to making quilts. Often I write poems in response to visual art or music. These are called ekphrastic poems. Lately, I've been honored to learn others are using my poems to create music and visual art. The composer Wendy Durrwachter recently received a grant to create a piece of music based on the title poem of my book, Surface Displacements.
The quilt artist Leslie Hughes created this piece of art after reading my book, Surface Displacements. Hughes' quilt is hand stitched and titled "Read Between the Lines." To thank her, I sent her a poem Quilt, published in The Mother Tongue.
QUILT by Sheila Packa
old garments cut into pieces
stitched into the fabric
so many women
cutting scraps into corners
into houses into entire lives
held with thread
pulled by the sharp needle
one eye
closing on the world
the way it was
the way it is
with an underside
a pattern not completed
fraying yet being mended
by hands
stitched into the fabric
so many women
cutting scraps into corners
into houses into entire lives
held with thread
pulled by the sharp needle
one eye
closing on the world
the way it was
the way it is
with an underside
a pattern not completed
fraying yet being mended
by hands
always being useful
washing, pressing out
the wrinkles
finding what shapes
will fit together
gathering into circles
to fasten the layers
over the hard frame
talking secrets
over the design
the thimbles click
the knots are tied
No comments:
Post a Comment