Several times over the years, my friend, poet and artist Karen Dennison and I have given each other an image for the other to respond to with a poem. And I’ve had the pleasure of posting these collaborations on my blog. Here are our latest efforts (two photos and two poems).
Image by E.E. Nobbs
Response Poem by Karen Dennison
Crow
Both witchfinder and witch, crow is cloaked
in night and shadow, ghosts of oil slicks.
Crow’s black lets sunlight dance and drum
on her feathers, let’s heat spirit the breeze.
Crow rattles danger, soothes herself with caws
of chants and spells. Steampunk crow
grips a fallen bough with mechanical claws
the colour of storm clouds. Crow looms
against the sky, plague-doctor beak stuffed
with herbs that smell sweet. Crow unwraps
her capes of wings, fans the air with pointed
hands, sweeps high. Crow harvests voices lifted
by wind, learns each human’s shape. At day’s close,
a coven gathers. The many roost as one.
Image by Karen Dennison
Response Poem by E.E. Nobbs — This is a “madrigal” variation. https://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/671-english-madrigal/
Astronaut for a Season
I see a time-filled tree and remember
the Camperdown elm with a wooden swing
and flights to and fro the planets’ splendours.
.
Places far above the sky I’d enter,
legs pumping, exploring everything.
I see a time-filled tree and remember
the Camperdown elm with a wooden swing,
captained by the stalwart young pretender
whose mighty spaceship flew each day that spring
scuffing earth, then zooming higher, winged …
I see a time-filled tree and remember
the Camperdown elm with a wooden swing
and flights to and fro the planets’ splendours.
elly from earth 