Divination drawing pairs improvisational drawing with rationalized writing as a method of discovering layered meanings in thoughts.
John F. Simon
Divination
He fell in love with
the smooth flow
of a pencil
drawing beauty
in lines
becoming shapes
becoming a feminine body
on a 3×5 card.
I fell in love, too.
Her face
my child Self,
that tender one I lost
and seek to touch again.
I hold her in my hand
like a shell
from an endless shore.
She knows how to love me.
I am slowly learning
how to be loved.
(draft) Margaret Simon, June 22, 2019
ekphrasis on drawings by John F. Simon
I wrote this poem at a writing workshop around John F. Simon’s art show at the Hilliard Museum. The first line was borrowed from Barbara Crooker’s ekphrastic poem on Van Gogh’s Field with Wheat Stacks published on The Writer’s Almanac on June 22, 2019.
Reflections on the Teche 
Beautiful. I love how the author takes the hand of her younger self…and makes a connection with what she can offer and accept. Lovely.
A shell from an endless shore! Lovely, Margaret.
I love the circularity in your poem and the art, and then letting go–the sketch and poem work hand in hand, thanks.
“that tender one I lost
and seek to touch again.”
Margaret, you’ve captured the beauty of the child, Self in these lines.
Lovely, Margaret–I love that you transition to discovering your child self in the drawing. And learning self-love–that’s definitely something to revisit from our childhood days.
Margaret, there is such a gentle touch in this post, starting with the progression of drawings. Your poem is lovely, especially the lines, “like a shell
from an endless shore.” The themes of growth, self-realization, and love will fall from this page onto many gentle souls who read your post.
Both the art and the poem are a form of metamorphosis. This totally brought to mind the photo you shared of your child self on FB…
Mary Lee, I am cleaning out my parents’ home and coming across lots of things that bring up the past. It’s a good and difficult process. They have moved to a retirement home. A significant change is happening.
I love this Margaret. Much of this poem connects me to my relationship with my granddaughter. This feels like it is all about me and her and something I didn’t understand til I read your poem. I thank you.
She knows how to love me.
I am slowly learning
how to be loved.
I loved your poem! I clicked through and read Barbara Crooker’s, too, and it was also wonderful. Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Beautiful response to an intriguing drawing.
Margaret, this is such a deep, openhearted dive into the lines, the lines rounding, the lines becoming you. The voice of your poem.
I hope the digging out at your parents’ house is becoming a little more “normal” and a little less overwhelming. ❤