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Chimera



Is it the octopus we choose

or king of castle up above;

do undercurrents well below,

or, built on sand, keep battlements?

I, sovereign over pennant towers,

but speculate Leviathan?

Do I seek divers to explore

unfathomed deeps, swirl sediments,

perchance to find some purchase there,

a grip on rising levels, fear?

Perhaps, report that all is clear;

more likely start with pistol shot,

a danger warning, lurking near,

the breakers rolling in to crash.

But do I ride, crest of the waves,

risk pull by suckers underneath,

devoured by behemoth of past?

Is this what surface tension means,

meniscus fragile on the sea;

chimaeras shimmy in the brine,

illusory spooks, rats, ghost sharks?

I spade-build dream, my bucket list,

amongst sure stranded grain and grit,

where razors, cowries, starfish lie,

a paper fig from Eden’s soil,

doves, jingles, limpets holding fast.

See scallops of a pilgrimage

and tellin, trivia of beach,

midst oyster beds, rock pools, fish fry,

and iridescent cultured pearls,

by spiney jewel box, angel wings.

It is skilled art to nib the Quink,

to craft the printer’s eroteme;

those question marks float free from block,

a stain from squid to cloud with ink?

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4 Comments


An excellent interpretation of the art and how wonderful to get such feedback. Congratulations

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We rarely know if there is a backstory if we submit a piece to a poetry site. I learned through a 'Reply'...

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I'm writing now to tell you that our artist for our Art Inspired contest for this issue selected your poem "Chimera" as her favorite. I would love to publish it as our Artist's Winner, if you are agreeable.

I'd also like to share a little bit with you about the artist - something a little more personal - in the hopes that it offers you even added meaning to your selection.

'A' was adopted when she was younger (but not young enough to not remember her past) from an orphanage in the Philippines.  She knows intense poverty; abandonment; extreme hunger; isolation. Her adoptive family took her, two of her biological siblings and six other children - a total of NINE…

Edited
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John Wood
John Wood
May 29

I enjoyed letting this wash over me like one of my more interesting Parkinson's dreams.

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