Spark Art & Writing- New Poem

We just finished another round of SPARK, the art/writing challenge. This was my partner, artist Dana Gray's inspiration piece to me:

And this was my response piece:

Together

Love is a swirling mass of colors,
Bliss sweeping us into the clouds
The world disappears as I look in your eyes
We forge ahead, day by day
Partnering together in life's routine
Excitement fades, replaced by something deeper
A less flattering, more solid love
The storms come, nearly knocking us over
But we cling together, side by side
We watch as others separate,
The vivid colors of love fade to gray
Now dissolved halves wandering alone
But we cling harder to each other,
Grateful to be lost together in the storm
As the winds die down, I realize we are scarred
But our wounds have bound us as one,
Healing fuses our bones together
The colors swirl around us again
Renewed love sweeps us away once more

This was my inspiration piece to my partner:

Survival Mode

Where the heck am I going?

Driving blindfolded,

It's hard to stay on the road

Walking zombie, arms outstretched

Snatching anything I feel

Willing this to be IT-

The place where confusion lifts,

Epiphanies rest

Frustration! Agh!

When, oh, when

Will this fog disperse?

Stand on that mountain-rock

Breathing clean air,

Vision restored

I'm tired of drudging in circles,

Survival mode-

Let it end; no more!

My foot is firm, my brow is set,

Refusing to take that sedative

This patient will obstinately

Insist on a change

And this was her response piece:

SPARK- My Art and Writing Pieces

The new SPARK: Art from Writing, Writing from Art challenge is up. Amy Souza started this creative venture to unite artists and writers and inspire them to create off of each other. This time around, I entered as an artist and as a writer, so I had two different partners- Marty McGihon was my art partner, and you can see our page here. And Urmilla Khanna was my writing partner, seen here. There are so many amazingly talented people on this project, so go check it out.

These are the poems I entered:

Reclaimed

Scrape deep, chip away

Remove the years of grime

Expose the raw material

Intended for a different purpose

Splinters tear the flesh

That lovingly strokes,

Pouring lover's blood

Into the restoration

Ragged and rough as sandpaper-

Yet the lightest touch is fire,

Salt in the open wound

Painful purification

Smooth over reclaimed surfaces

Kissed with sweetest silk

And gently unveil

The undiscovered me

Survival Mode

Where the heck am I going?

Driving blindfolded,

It's hard to stay on the road

Walking zombie, arms outstretched

Snatching anything I feel

Willing this to be it-

The place where confusion lifts,

Epiphanies rest

Frustration! Agh!

When, oh, when will this fog disperse?

Stand on that mountain-rock

Breathing clean air, vision restored

I'm tired of drudging in circles,

Survival mode

Let it end, no more!

My foot is firm, my brow is set,

Refusing to take that sedative

This patient will obstinately

Insist on a change

And these are the art pieces I made:

"Idealism"

The little girl is running down a road of song lyrics about fairytales, towards a sparkly castle in the distance. She hopes that when she reaches her destination, she will live happily ever after. I identify all too well.

"Survivor"

I wanted to portray people who have survived great trauma. Not to show them in despair, but to show the strength that exists in spite of it, even the joy that comes in the rescue. The images clockwise: holocaust survivors, girls marching for children's labor rights, a black slave, girls released from sexual trafficking in Asia, "Hope" with her anchor, a group of impoverished families receiving food from the Salvation Army during the Great Depression, and a picture I took of a tree with birds and an open cage.

Extravagant Love in Public

 

I had the privilege of reading a poem I'd been asked to write last Sunday. This is the third year our church was asked by the Deep Ellum Arts Festival to present a Sunday message. We were outside on the big stage, in the middle of Main Street in Dallas. What's so amazing about it is the fact that we were asked. Several years ago, Deep Ellum protested having a church in this arts and culture section of Dallas. But after years of working to improve our shared community, we earned their trust and a right to speak.

So Sunday's theme was love. The songs and poems people spoke of talked about true love, God's unconditional love for all people. Mimo (awesome songwriter/musician) performed one of my personal favorites "Let Justice Roll Down". Another musician, Ben, read a satiric modern day version of 1 Corinthians he had written, and my friend Justin (a founder of ArtLoveMagic) performed his spoken word poem about extravagant love. It was beautiful to take part in. Here's my poem:

I want to love and be loved

But my heart is scarred

I long to see clearly

But my vision is impaired

I'm handicapped by my humanity

This fog that surrounds me

Leaves me in shadows

My eyes can't penetrate

The layer of ignorance I walk in

I am lost and alone

Unable to help even myself

But your love pierces through my reality

And I realize how blind I've been

I have lived in a rainbow of gray

My passion is mediocre at best

Compared to your extravagant love

But in you, I am complete

Awakened to new life

New clarity, new colors, new hope

And though I am limited here

Held captive by my skin

Soon I will be unhindered

Fully embraced by you