Infinite arches, I loop in nothingness;
hopscotching heat, in and out of cooled corridors
leading to chlorine scented waiting rooms.
There white marbled faces stare at me with
empty eyes of loss, knowing loss, their false
smiles meant to assuage fear with small
green balls of hope for some life again.
Unseen by families struggling against odds.
Clouds shroud physicians who wear
dangling rubber gloves as symbols of skill.
They craft shields while machines shoot
heat in burning laser points and drips
of ice form architectured snowflakes, lace
cell-sized antidotes to death’s poison.
Brewed nitrates, plastics, refined oil, sugars;
toxic concoctions of modernity I’ve ingested
in my lifetime – taken what was given to subsist, now
seeking cure, I pretend music knowing beauty awaits.
(c) Gay Reiser Cannon * August, 2011
Posted for Poetics by Mark Kerstetter today at dVersepoets
Spending my time the last 8 weeks in a waiting room at a cancer center,
watching patients and their families pretend normalcy while waiting for
the fire and ice of radiation and chemotherapy. I saw that dichotomy in this
painting.
wow gay – some great imagery here…chlorine scented waiting rooms…was my fav i think…there’s a sense of emptiness in your writing in spite of the many things going on – exactly like in the painting…i always sense this emptiness in his works…no matter how crowded the painting might be… maybe it’s just me though…
whew…what a write gay, some really creative internal rhyme and imagery…ugh a waiting room is or can be such a dismal place…you b rought it to life in a very surreal way…doctors in clouds generating shields…i hope you hear that music you end on…thanks for bringing it to a lighter note…and hope its not the muzak they play in the scratchy speakers while you wait…lol
dang it,she beat me again…grrrr claudia…lol
Suspense, emptiness (yes, Claudia!), waiting, and forlorn signs of tepid hope in a strange, alienating modern world – these elements you give words to here – excellent!
ooooeeee! You really create a strong impression in this write. Great crafting of images and mood. I could almost taste the atmosphere.
Does look like a surgical glove, and the pained expression on the busts face, you’ve really taken a dive into the surreal here Gay, liked the stripped down feel to your stanza, a story told but in a hinting at way that builds the momentum. I was thinking about you earlier trying to relax to some Carmen McRae, me and my jazz…
I love how you all use your poetry as awareness. Great poem
i can smell the chlorine… and i can feel the fear. a powerful write, Gay!
Cold, sterile, clean but without beauty. These are harsh images, that sucks me right in…you have manipulated the language to drive the coldness home…and you have done it so brilliantly! But there is hope…always the hope for beauty! Amazing, Gay….(and I just realized I was still holding my breath from the stench of the chlorine!)
You certainly took this poem in an interesting direction and brought it to an interesting conclusion;, and I admire that. I loved the phrase “loop in nothingness.” It seems so apt.
Loved the opening lines. Beautiful.
Kellt
You’ve definitely given this work a personally involved feel–that rubber glove is such an incongruous and yet perfect part of the composition–I was viewing it as some heavy chemical glove, but your analogy to doctors, to illness, sickness unto death and poisons dripping just took it into the heart of the picture for me. The green ball of hope ( like a miniature earth) the uncaring classically perfect faces of the dead-eyed statues, made by men who are dust to express ideas we no longer can live, and the arches, promising so much, refuge coolness, relief from the blinding polluted glare, and really leading into a maze of emptiness. Whew. Good poem, Gay. This is just one gut punch after another.
And thanks for your kind words about a poem I now feel is an unmitigated piece of fluff. ;_)
Oh my! This was amazing. The first thing I saw was the empty eyes. I’m glad you wrote of them. This whole part was my favorite,
“empty eyes of loss, knowing loss, their false
smiles meant to assuage fear with small
green balls of hope for some life again.
Unseen by families struggling against odds.”
Great interpretation of the painting details… it is like you painted it yourself.
Like these lines:
“in my lifetime – taken what was given to subsist, now
seeking cure, I pretend music knowing beauty awaits.”
Looping in loss, you’ve become observer. I like the green balls of hope. The war and machine imagery fighting against poison is strong. Thanks for sharing this piece.
Image and words fusing to echo each ones pain
Excellent write with some brilliant imagery. Thanks for sharing with us
I receive my blood treatments at a cancer center. The faces . . . you’ve captured them perfectly.
“drips of ice form architectured snowflakes”
i love that.
breathtaking Gay ~ stunningly visual but also powerful pungency of deep rooted fears ~smell strongly pervades ~ hope interjects in the smallest form ~ but it is there although ‘unseen’ by families struggling’ ~ everything Joy expressed so well ~ just stunning ~ Lib
Taking this image into the picture of your current atmosphere is brilliantly done. Beautiful write my friend ~ Rose
wow have had a similar experience , and the after effects can be lifelong,but necessary from the chemicals one has to ingest …fab take on this painting hope your normalcy returns soon !