Brisueño & Purvis – August 2022
Meredith Purvis and Ram Brisueño traded art and words. Ram shared this untitled image with Meredith:
In response, Meredith wrote this poem:
Sunflower #3
Moss-clogged and muddy,
the Gunpowder drags along.
The air is heavy, crowds
me for space.
I imagine you here,
a mirage taking shape, draped
across this river rock.
The radiant heat of your belly
warms my hand. A slow smile crosses
your face as I lean
down and lick the sweat
from between your breasts, press
my lips into yours.
The sunflower behind your ear brushes
my face and I am lost
in the salt and spit and
the inevitability
of the fall.
* * * * *
Meredith shared this short essay with Ram:
Drifting on the Pocomoke
I found myself afloat in the middle of the Pocomoke River, with only a rented kayak, a paddle, and the assurance that “a house on the right” would be the landmark to indicate it was time to turn back.
This morning, the Pocomoke is quiet, but enough wind has risen overnight to bring a quiet, constant rippling to the mirror’s surface. A reminder that this is water and above it rests sky, which so often calls the shots.
Not much used to paddling, I laid the oar across my lap and let the little boat drift while my arms rested. I stared up at a robin perched among the loblolly pines, then turned my eyes downward, vision caught by a sudden trail of bubbles to my right. I stared at the dark water, thinking about marshes and rivers and creeks and where they meet, wondering if this was some current from the mouth of the creek. Then, I realized, the bubbles were moving.
I watched them glide, source unseen, to and beneath my kayak. Shifting my gaze to the right, I was pleasantly surprised as an otter popped its head above the water. As we made eye contact, he disappeared just as quickly, surprised, I am sure, by this pinkly colored human in a bright orange boat. I sat for a moment more, hoping it might resurface, but when it did not, I paddled on, full of joy at our meeting.
In response, Ram made this image, titled “Drifting on the Pocomoke”:
