Project Progress

This is the poem I was originally going to use for my project, as a series of 10 paintings to be read as sequentially. The formatting of the poem didn't translate into my blog, so I'll post a scan of the handwritten version as soon as I have one.

Book One: The First Ending

When the world was only seeds it asked the whales what to do,

Since the stars hadn't been born, the only giants lived in the sea,

With watery new wisdom, the rivers delivered tiny gods and humans each,

To new households: the desert and the meadow, the forest and lonely beach,

Where I found you splashing

Full arms into empty spaces,

Those pools drained

Of the elements.

You, unbalanced on infant Gæa, fell between

Her vacancies in air and crust, water and flame.

Some deity or demon cloaked the naïve earth in the gold of Saturn,

Keeping war an uninvented umbra, cached in Mountain’s shadow.

Speaking in union, mountain mounted mountain,

Reaching toward the stars of heaven's porch.

The undone queen, with the compassion of water,

Silenced what holy blood Iron had spilled on the land.

Flood forced us to the roof, to stand

On hands and climb the clouds.

Behind them Apollo was waking,

And baking the wet earth.

Chasing the river with painful love, listened for her heartbeat

In tree trunks, wrapped in the irony of his pointless powers.