McGraw & Purvis – August 2013

Carol McGraw and Meredith Purvis traded art and words. Carol shared this painting, “Daydreaming,”  with Meredith:

In response, Meredith wrote this poem:

Flash and Bang

You ran out the door in your bare feet,
come and gone like lightning.
All that’s left is the crackle taste
of atmosphere, and the uneasy
feeling that you were once here.

I’m almost certain you were here.
Shut my eyes and grab at your after image,
but it skitters, fades away, only a suggestion
in black and white, nothing I can hold on to.

And I am left here, on the floor,
spiraled limbs and collapsing
heart. Waiting for the thunder.

* * * * *
Meredith shared this collection of poems, “Superstition Sequence,” with Carol:

Ladder

Don’t walk under
sharp angles
and splintering
wood. Jaw waiting
to swallow you
whole.

Cat

I find myself curved
‘round the yellow orb
of your eye, sliced
in half by the whip
of your tail. Did you bring
good luck or bad? Purr
and I’ll forget.

Bells

Garland my porch
in bells and chimes.
Rely on the wind
to do its work, carry away
the tinkling of bells, spirits entranced
in sonorous,
but empty, vibrations.

Graveyard

Our cheeks pocket breath,
fingertips graze felted headliner,
feet hover above floorboard.
Muscles quiver. If we slip, body
follows feet into the grave.

Mirror

So many pieces. No sweeping
it under the rug. I wrap one shard
in cloth, slip it in my pocket. The frame gapes,
a jagged maw waiting to lock
itself around the next seven years.

Rabbit’s Foot

It is matted now, stained.
Brilliant blue faded to gray. But
it has gotten me out of many scrapes.
It will get me out of more.

Salt

Spilled across the table,
and I imagine myself reflected
in each miniscule grain:
a tiny, crystal universe holding
eventualities of misfortune

Crossing fingers

I let foolishness slide
from my lips, bargain
with the universe for unlikeliness,
the only thing holding
me together is my own
knotted fingers.

In response, Carol created this assemblage piece entitled, “What, Me Worry?”:

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