Shaffer & Richmond – Sum.10

Keith Shaffer and Carly Richmond traded art. Carly gave Keith the following photograph, “Paperwhites:”

In response, Keith wrote this poem:

Still Life

I never understood still life;
Always restless, I had no patience for it.
Then art was explained
And showed me birth, youth, aging, and death
Captured and held for pondering.

Before me now is captured beauty;
No death here,
Only the green of young life
And the frail enticing purity of white.
Who knew such power in a tender flower?

I have often thought on life’s short hour;
But a captured moment in picture or word
Holds life immortal
For all to behold the miracle, otherwise lost:
There is still life in still life.

* * * *

Keith gave Carly the following poem:

Competition in the Firmament

Not everyone can be the North Star,
Though most imagine going that far-
Never satisfied with lighting where they are.

They always dream of being so much more;
Not being the brightest, such a bore-
Conspiracy of smallness lurks behind each door.

There is nothing wrong with striving higher,
But the light from the North is a kind of liar.
It doesn‘t reflect anyone else’s fire.

Not everyone can be the North Star,
But life, that truth need not necessarily mar;
Your own fire is sufficient to light where you are.

It may not be quite as bright,
But it can still be a beacon in the night.
The fire from within is the warmest light.

Carly created the following photo collage in response: