art

Professor Lewis

/ joethewaller / 2 Comments

It seems that you were always writing,
Always reading, always smoking,
Always sipping, and I think your
Cup was overflowing.

But the romance of such thinking
Overlooks the daily living,
Working, growing, and forgiving.
Yours was normal life.

As I gather inspiration,
I am struck by dedication.
Life for you was no vacation.
You knew joy and grief.

But turning to the pen, you taught us,
Told us tales of truth that caught us,
Brought us to the Son who sought us,
In humility.

So let me emulate your seeing,
Work into my words that being
That knows what it is becoming.
Let me love the King.

Photo by Dave Lowe on Unsplash

Form Friday: Poet’s Pick: Curtal Sonnet

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At Poet’s Corner, Hopkins has his place
Among the greats of English poetry,
A testament to mastery of form,
Near Auden, Carroll, Byron, and the face
Of Milton, shape of Shakespeare – symmetry
Of syllables from these still keep us warm.
And we, in fear and wonder, follow close
Their patterns and their pictures, for we see
Their work as strong safehouses in the storm.
They live in legend for they still engross,
Transform.

Day 1: It’s Time

/ joethewaller / 1 Comment

It’s time to make the time for art again,
To see the sacrifice as offering.
Adorn the worlds without and worlds within.
Retrace the shapes of joy and suffering
And show them mingled, mangled, and made new
As only your soul can, and it will be
A blessing to yourself and others too,
A testament that truth still sets us free.
You feel your work is meager. It is so.
There are far finer pens and fairer lines.
But e’en the best are flawed, and still they show
The glory of the Lord. They still are signs
Reminding downcast eyes to look ahead
And giving hungry bellies fresh-baked bread.

Photo by Andrik Langfield on Unsplash

This is the first of 30 poems written this past November in response to prompts. In most cases, my poems were untitled, so I just used the prompt as the title.