January 2016
Neil Ellman
ellmans@comcast.net
ellmans@comcast.net
I am a poet from New Jersey, which almost seems a contradiction in terms, but the state has an active and renowned artistic community. Having published more than 1,200 poems, many of which are ekphrastic, I have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and the Rhysling Award. My latest chapbook, Mind Over Matta (Flutter Press, 2015), is based on the creations of one of my favorite artists, Roberto Matta Echauren, a Chilean abstract surrealist.
THREE POEMS BASED ON PAINTINGS BY RON DAVIS
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Author's Note: These poems are all based on the abstract work of Ron Davis. Responding to purely abstract work through poetry with meaning can be daunting, but I have attempted to walk that thin line. Like Davis' art, my "interpretations" are minimalist and highly structured. Davis, like no one before or since, had the aesthetic and spatial sensibilities of an architect.
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U Invert (567)
Contradictions of light
conversions of night
to bright awakenings
U and I
inverted as we are
in the morning of our day
each in a separate universe
so close, so far away
we never speak
we never touch
we barely know
how much the same
we are.
conversions of night
to bright awakenings
U and I
inverted as we are
in the morning of our day
each in a separate universe
so close, so far away
we never speak
we never touch
we barely know
how much the same
we are.
Arch Duo and Vented Star
Past and future
now and then
time an arch or more
passing through
the architecture
of the stars
there is consolation
in geometry
the structure
of the universe
as if it were conceived
and drafted
on a table top
by the hand of man.
now and then
time an arch or more
passing through
the architecture
of the stars
there is consolation
in geometry
the structure
of the universe
as if it were conceived
and drafted
on a table top
by the hand of man.
Green Un-Square Twist
An un-circle
be it what it is
has no reason
to revolve
around a nucleus
of green.
A square un-done
is purposeless
without its equal sides
and never stands alone
without the help
of green.
And we
un-human as we are
without a sense
of hope in grass
and trees
see no reason
to evolve.
be it what it is
has no reason
to revolve
around a nucleus
of green.
A square un-done
is purposeless
without its equal sides
and never stands alone
without the help
of green.
And we
un-human as we are
without a sense
of hope in grass
and trees
see no reason
to evolve.
©2016 Neil Ellman