The summer is made so much brighter by the exchange of poems arranged by Tabatha Yeatts. Mailboxes share a bit of insight (along with the proverbial wasp or two). I have been pleased to receive two poems so far. The first sent from our friend Ruth Hersey. Ruth sent a postcard of a Georges Seurat painting, one we are all likely familiar with. She also sent this photo that she took of observers of the same painting. Her poem comes from the wisdom of watching these observers.
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
“Some say they see poetry in my paintings; I see only science.” Georges SeuratOn a summer Sunday afternoon in 2018
We look at a painting of a summer Sunday afternoon in 1884.All those people with exquisite posture
Whom Georges Seurat saw by the Seine
Have been gone for years,
Bustles and parasols packed away,
The monkey’s chittering long silenced.And all these slightly scruffier people
Looking at his painting by the Chicago River
Will be gone one day too,
Their baseball hats empty
And their phone screens blank.The sun through the skylight
Illuminates the Parisians and the Chicagoans,
Shines on those millions of dots of paint that will outlast us all.Ruth Hersey, (c) 2018
My second poem exchange came this week. It slithered like a snake between bills and advertisements to delight me. Rebecca Herzog wrote a concrete poem (these are so hard to do well) about the Bayou Teche. I am touched that she took time to research the legend of the Bayou Teche. Her research comes together in this fabulous snake.
Thanks to Ruth and Rebecca for taking the sting out of getting the mail!
Wow! I want some of what you’re getting in your mailbox these days! Both of these poems are wonderful. I love Ruth’s layering of past and present with the Seurat painting and the viewers, and then the beautifully executed form of Rebecca’s poem. What treasures!
Margaret, I so enjoyed both these poems. The Bathers is one of my favorite paintings and I love how Ruth connected all of us to them in 1884. Rebecca’s poem is super! I love the shape and the message, both. Isn’t it funny that one of my first thoughts was, “what a close reading she must have done of Bayou Song.” Once a teacher…..
What beautiful and meaningful gifts to receive this summer. I’m so glad I joined in too. I love seeing everyone’s work.
I really enjoyed reading these poems! I also LOVE the idea of poem swaps! Will there be another one coming soon?
Tabatha usually hosts another swap around the winter holiday. Look out for it.
I would love to try this some time. Blogging is still so new to me, and I get easily lost!
The swaps please again and again! What beautiful poems you received, Margaret, a reminder of the swiftness of time and that which stays, in both poems. Lovely to read and ponder!
I love how both poems connect the past to the present (and the future). What remains? Nature and art! ❤
Tabatha got it exactly right: nature and art remain. These poems are real treasures, Margaret. Thank you for sharing them with us!
What fun gifts!!
Oh, what treasures. Both of them having such depth to them.
I love seeing all of these poetry swap offerings! It makes me a little sad that I’m never brave enough to participate!
oooh. What a divine pair. That final line of Ruth’s poem especially sent a delicious shiver down my spine.
What a rich pair of poetry swap poems Margaret! I recognized the location of ” La Grande Jatte” right away. Her poem is such a wonderful take on the painting and event of watching the onlookers–I could see both as an art installation piece. Love Rebecca’s slithering shape poem too, thanks for sharing all!