Steven D. Lightspring's "Free Flight" after Alix Hitchcock

Steven D. Lightspring photographed with the Alix Hitchcock art that inspired his poem at Caldwell Arts Council on June 9, 2018. 

FREE FLIGHT

by Steven D. Lightspring

after Through The Air by Alix Hitchcock

We long to live
In fullest flow
Of air, of stream,
Though here below

Our highest dreams
We walk about
With hopes that heave us
Up and out

Within our dreams
Of day or night
We hunger for
Our hearts' free flight.

Jane Lucas's "What Remains" after Ginger Owen-Murakami and Vicki Van Ameyden

Jane Lucas photographed at Caldwell Arts Council on June 9, 2018. Art of Poetry Catawba Valley toured the center in Lenoir, NC for their first event.  

WHAT REMAINS

by Jane Lucas

after Cairn by Ginger Owen-Murakami and Vicki Van Ameyden

Piled in with the faces,

a monogram on a screen door.

Not her grandmother’s,

but a sudden reminder . . .

One letter of cursive metal

evokes another

and the porch

where she finds herself again,

tracing the C in her mind

and waiting.

LB Sedlacek's "Electric Dreams" after Alix Hitchcock

At the June 9, 2018 Art of Poetry Catawba Valley tour of Caldwell Arts Council, LB Sedlacek is photographed sharing her poem inspired by artist, Alix Hitchcock.

ELECTRIC DREAMS (My Jellyfish Ode)

by LB Sedlacek
After Swimming with the Jellyfish by Alix Hitchcock

Do jellyfish dream
Even after death
Cruel humans
Tossing throwing
Vacant blobs
Or poking
With sticks
Yet live
Pure Jellyfish
Tentacles stretching
Reaching into
The wind
The heart
Sparking dreams
Oceans afar
And my
Humble ode
To all
Of them.

Keith Smith's "Man On The Move" after Sharon McCullough

Keith Smith is photographed reading his poem beside the sculpture that inspired his work at Caldwell Arts Council on June 9, 2018. 

MAN ON THE MOVE (in theory)

by Keith Smith

After Man on the Move by Sharon McCullough

My mind is all awhirl with thoughts of places I could go

But my feet are stuck in stone and they always tell me “no”

Yet I stand upright and hopeful with my legs e’er at the ready

If my body is set free, then I know that I’ll be steady

My arms they stretch to balance if I ever start to move

I want to start my journey so my stature can improve

You can see that I am hopeful with my head in jaunty tilt

But conformity of wiring’s wrapped around it like a quilt

But the thing that I remember most is mind over matter

Even with a frozen body, my brain goes pitter patter

If we can free the cage of limits from our prisoned minds

We can truly move ahead and leave the fixed past behind.

Beverly Finney's "Her Warrior Princess" after Susan Greene

Beverly Finney photographed at Caldwell Arts Council on June 9, 2018 reading her work inspired by artist, Susan Greene.

HER WARRIOR PRINCESS

for Jennifer Womble

after Looking Out With Little Blue by Susan Greene

Inside a mother, a warrior princess,

wise in her intimate knowing of life

that springs in her and from her,

grows in her protective shadow;

strong in nurturing, withholding her desires,

standing by, ever ready to carry on

in time’s unpredictable weather;

beautiful in spirit and soul, in her knowing,

her strength, her reproductive body

stretching, arching and spilling forth;

brave in her fierce defense, persistence,

in her fidelity to those whom she loves,

in her infinite capacity of heart.

Inside a mother, a warrior princess

abides, primed to rise to the call.