‘Brushed Words’
Artwork inspired by Poetry
Selection of Poetry
A Collaborative Exhibition by Estuary Arts Centre and Hibiscus Coast Writers Inc.
Monday 12 June – Sunday 2 July 2017
*Some work will also go on display at the Readers and Writers Showcase on Sat 10 June 2017 at Kingsway School
Aims:
 To encourage artists in their creative fields to present Artwork inspired by Poetry.
 So the audience may experience an enhanced interpretation of the written word
through visual art.
Artists will select a poem of their choice written by local members of the Hibiscus Coast
Writers Inc. from this selection
Only two artists can use the same poem, so choose soon.
(First come first served)
It is advisable to have a selection of choices to avoid disappointment.
All registrations to be received on selection of poem (no later than 16 April 2017)
Cost to enter: $10 per artist, max three entries each
Artwork can be for sale with the accompanying poem
The Readers and Writers Showcase:
Saturday 10 June, 8.30am – 5pm
A selection of ‘Brushed Words’ artwork will be on display at Kingsway School Junior Campus
in Silverdale. Due to space constraints we will not be able to exhibit all of the artworks.
This selection of ‘Brushed Words’ will be at the discretion of the organisers and in
consultation with the artist.
1
Important Dates:
Delivery Dates for artwork:
Tuesday 06 June to Thursday 08 June between 9am and 4pm daily to Estuary
Arts Centre
Exhibition at Estuary Arts: Monday 12 June to Sunday 02 July 2017
Exhibition Opening function: Wednesday 14 June, 6-8pm
Artists – Please read the poems and make your selection. FIRST COME FIRST
SERVED
Email: [email protected] to secure your poem.
List of poems:
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
A Secret Revealed
An Unforgiving Place
Birdsong
Bonds of Love
Butterflies at the Beach
Chords
Cicadas
Conversation with a 2 year old
Coromandel
Dementia
Female Aspergers
Flat White
Halloween Rebellion
It’s Great to be Old
Landscape
Light
Moko
My Heart
On hearing the first Magpie in spring
Partners in Grime
Putting up the tent
Sunday in the Kowhai Tree
Superhero at the Manger
The Lady of the Bay
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Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 6
Page 7
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
The Peg Obsession
The Figment
The Sting of Death Denied
Solomon’s Love Song
This Mere Mortal
Spring
Dappled Sky
Wishes
Tanka 1
Tanka 2
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Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
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1) A SECRET REVEALED
Slipping silently, stealthily, between the trees
Weaving spells of iridescent enticement, entrapment,
allurement.
Waiting, watching.
Cherished victim soothingly constrained
by innocent filaments
Draws back too late, eager passions quickly quenched.
Stillness lies within the sleek shroud that time will
devour.
Still waiting, watching.
Until the early rays of gold on
glistening crystal, reveal the spider’s secret
3
2) AN UNFORGIVING PLACE
The drive of rain, the hoist of waves
relentlessly pounding the wind driven vessel.
Natural chaos, nature unrestrained.
Sheet the sails, meet the challenge.
Intrepid in its quest, the vessel ready to do its best
Seagulls screech and plane the wailing wind
sea-spray whipped into a ghostly veil.
Sheet the sails, meet the challenge.
Intrepid in its quest, the vessel proudly
does its best.
Exploring sea creatures ride the wake.
Down to the deep they plunge where lies
the treasure trove, rockbound and protected by
the dwellers of the sea.
Clasped in an eerie shroud the vessel now helpless.
Vision lost and blindly driven onto the rocky shore in this unforgiving place.
Storm spent, vessel grounded, journey thwarted.
Subdued waves, reddened by the rising sun,
the vessel glimpsed through the morning’s mist
as murmuring ripples lick its wounds.
Yet intrepid in its quest and spirit staunch.
Survival at its best.
4
3) BIRDSONG
High in the trees, over rustle of warm-sweet hay,
Two grey larks lovingly tend their nest.
With melodious, piping birdsong they greet each day
And feed four gaping mouths; a family blessed.
Then gilded, tawny nightingale swings into town,
His feathers preened; his voice magnificent trills.
One lark is smitten, senses allured by his sound.
Her harmony soars with his, her heartbeat thrills.
‘Go sing with him,’ mate says. ‘I’ll watch the young.’
He nobly agrees to do a double shift
So all could hear sublime ‘Magnificat’ sung.
Alas, she abandons the nest, beguiled and adrift.
Today, when forsaken lark’s lament rings clear,
All the world stops tweeting; his song to share
5
4) BONDS OF LOVE
A new cry of life; a call from soul to soul.
Labour complete, her mind is remote and calm.
Her heart warms with waves of loving balm
Overflowing to fill the vacated hole.
Though cord is cut, she knows she’s been made whole.
Sweet tears of thanks become a joyful psalm
As Love Himself holds each one in His palm.
Apart, yet one, both peace and sleep enfold.
Faint whimper stirs her senses to alarm
And mewling cry summons, a call to arm.
Knowing, searching, nuzzling, suckling wonder
And feathery sigh breathes life into new vision.
As dark, blue eyes gaze out of eons yonder,
Soft murmurs release deep soundings of His Passion.
5)
BUTTERFLIES AT THE BEACH
Rough seas, grey-green and white, jumble on the sand,
seagulls squawk and scud before the wind.
Above the water a rainbow curve sweeps along the beach,
the figure dangling underneath pulls cords that turn it
360 degrees to retrace its path, twisting and feinting
to avoid others who join the race.
Racing, racing, myriads of multi-coloured butterflies
jewel-bright against the pewter sky.
6
6) CHORDS
Soft the sun’s blush upon the clouds
In whispers a shell does open
Flutters of wing, delicate, butterfly beautiful
Uncharted, wild and free, leaves fall
Painted is a portrait of silence
Hope clasped in hands a child prays
Wondrous the sight of a new born babe
Hopeful promise within lover’s stolen kiss
Dynamic the sight of a rosebud unfolding
Framed, serene ~ the portrait is completed
7) CICADAS
Stuttering stroke
Shrieking, soaring sequence
Sibilant symphony of sun
Celebration
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8)
CONVERSATION WITH A 2 YEAR OLD
Child and cat on warm concrete.
Careful, says she, circling the tabby
on her scooter, he bites.
Puss blinks in the sun
and continues to lick his front paw.
Is he a boy I ask.
Ivy giggles, No.
A girl then?
She sighs, he’s a cat
of course.
Stupid adult.
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9) COROMANDEL
Your name rolls off my tongue
like Bangalow, Mandalay
reminder of an Indian heritage
via an English missionary.
That all seems far away as
I view your harbour, mudflats,
boats heeling into the wind,
black vertebrae of oyster spats.
From my cottage I watch
pukekos dart, heads of toetoe wave,
flax nod, willows weep
beyond the hedge of feijoa.
All is silent except for gulls
like arrows as they swoop
on flounder trapped by tide
in a thrashing helpless group.
Nature adjusts its palette.
Inexorable, the sea creeps back
and blue smiles replace
the glowers of greeny black.
Sky blushes like a maiden,
sun waves a silver wand.
Night sighs as it draws
a feathered cloak over the land.
9
10)
DEMENTIA
Do I know you
People tell me I should
Something familiar about the eyes
…nah, it’s gone
Just another nameless face
Who are you
I tell you, I don’t know
A cog turns in my mind
…nah, it’s gone
Just another empty space
Have I been there
A lifetime ago perhaps
Fleeting memory flickers
…nah, it’s gone
Just another lifeless place
Do I know you
People tell me I should
Someone familiar in the mirror
…nah, not at all
Just another wretched confused face
10
11)
FEMALE ASPERGER ©
Aware she’s unique, but she’s not sure why,
alien loneliness, many tears she cries.
She’s an easy target, to knock down small,
to cowardly torment, belief makes them tall.
Though physically similar, but not quite the same,
she’s a complicated puzzle, living a confusing game.
The rules are a mystery, but she pretends she knows,
committed to learn, she slowly grows.
Though socially exempt, she invests in this time,
to give an example, she’s writing this rhyme.
'You’re a comedian' she’s told, 'you are not aware,'
a writer, psychologist, photographer she prefers.
Her thoughts skip a beat, jump ahead,
internally feel knotted and heavy like lead.
Tangled and taut, a twisted mess,
emotional breakdown required to rest.
She’s travelled the world-so how can she be,
a condition that restricts, yet she is so free.
The spectrum line is so long and wide,
vast as the ocean’s depth and end of tide.
Allow her more time, through this maze of life’s race,
results are of quality, when left to her pace.
Autistic minds, notice patterns you can’t see,
Now that’s intelligent-I’M SURE YOU AGREE
12)
FLAT WHITE
Two words in a window
script unfamiliar
meaning obscure.
Depressed pakeha?
Antarctica?
Café au lait!
Ah – Okay!
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13)
HALLOWEEN REBELLION
Tiz your duty:
Said the farmer, with a wicked grin
To be sliced, diced, picked clean from within
Not a single seed or scrap of flesh must remain
You’ll be scraped clean and given a new name
Said the pumpkin:
That doesn’t sound very wholesome
Sliced, diced, picked clean, it sounds rather gruesome
As for the name, I see nothing wrong with Pumpkin
I’ll keep the name, and my flesh within my skin
Said the farmer:
Don’t worry, you won’t feel a thing
I’ll make it quick, it’ll be over before you scream
I’m going to carve you into the best shape ever seen
You’ll have a candle inside, be the Hero of Halloween
Hero - Scoffed the pumpkin:
You can keep that prize
You don’t care for me, you only want me for my size
I tell you, enough is enough – leave us pumpkins alone
We are not your playthings, we have minds of our own
Said the Farmer:
But, we need a Jack-o-lantern there
It won’t be a Halloween party without one to share
People come from miles around to see the scary face
I’ve carved a Jack-o-lantern every year for my place
Well, in that case:
Said the Pumpkin with a wicked grin
Watermelons are easy to slice and pick clean from within
You can scrape the flesh and carefully remove every seed
Whilst you are carving, you can enjoy a sweet juicy feed
12
14)
IT’S GREAT TO BE OLD
Isn't it great to be old?
Christmas is here , we're full of cheer , or so I'm told
Sally army comes round to give me a pud.
It's great to be old or so I'm told
kids on bikes, mum’s on the gin , have a mince pie,
come on in!
It only happens once a year, want a ham sandwich?
have a beer!
Chocolates and crackers, trees and lights,
Nothing ever changes try as we might.
But remember the homeless, the sick, the cold,
Give them the chance to be glad they are old.
13
15)
LANDSCAPE
Remember
when we were young
scaling the mountain
to reach its crater lake you - faster than everyone else
lit a cigarette at the top
and beamed your crooked smile.
It was the descent
that frightened me,
those loose stones
a threat to send me flying.
Yet I survived and it was you
who did the dying.
Long nights I dreamed
I could wade through thermal
waters into Ruatapu Cave,
morepork cries a signal
I had entered the domain
of Ruaumoko.
In that god’s underworld
I would wave fern fronds
keening with all the sadness
of lost years.
Today this bush reminds me
that you were at ease with nature it was I who loved the city’s
drumbeat of distractions.
In silence broken only
by a susurrus of tree tops
I speak your name and
like a priestess raise my arms
in benediction
letting you go at last.
14
16) L I G H T
Darkness pressed, pulsed.
Or was it the throbbing
of his wasted body?
Silence whispered, hissed.
Or was it his breath
sucking in, wheezing out?
He stirred, listening.
At the birdcall of dawn
he uncurled, struggling to sit.
He waited.
Then at sunrise he lifted his eyes
to watch with wonder
a single shaft of light
thrust like a sword between the shutters
forcefully dispatching the bleakness of night.
As banished shadows slid away,
shapes and hues emerged
into life and colour.
It was a new day.
He stood up.
15
17)
MOKO
As delicate as finest lace
in cobalt lines on brown skin trace
a story in each twist and turn,
a wave and rope, a frond of fern.
Past history he carries here
a story he is proud to wear.
18)
MY HEART
When I think of you, so young
my heart grows fierce and strong
and longs to encompass you
to form a hardened shield.
But, as you grow older
and the years propel you away
reluctantly my heart must soften
become an elastic string.
Long
and
thin
it
Stretches
flexing over time and distance
Bending but never broken
Forever my heart will be
A link between you and me.
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19)
ON HEARING THE FIRST MAGPIE IN SPRING
A Sonnet
The yodeling, chortling magpie’s summer call
when heard in spring gives lift to weary heart.
Now winter’s icy breath and grip will pall
and yodeling, chortling, strident birds soon dart
between the trees. Imperious black and white,
gimlet eyes and powerful beaks take station
to claim their spot and loudly force their rights.
Yet I forgive these lordly declarations.
Depressed by winter’s endless disadvantage.
When bud and flower and leaf are beyond ken,
know soon, the sun will step up winter wattage,
Announcing sure return of summer, when
I hear their yodel odel bold as brass.
Evocative as the smell of new mown grass.
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20)
PARTNERS IN GRIME
Why do ants
Walk together in a line
Going who knows where
In perfect rhythm and rhyme
Why do bees
Fall from the sky
To land on the pavement
And simply wait to die
Why do flies
Find a way in
When everything is shut
Still they always win
Why do roaches
Refuse to die
Once sprayed all over
Always crawl and hide
Why do mice
Steal the cheese
The trap is sprung
But escape with ease
Why do I
Live with these
Horrid little beasties
They refuse to leave
18
21)
PUTTING UP THE TENT
Our tent
Such a fragile refuge
Searching for a site
Hazards?
Security light on a high pole, innocently blank now
ready to blaze through flimsy walls
when it’s time for its night-time performance
Not there
Trail bikes beside that tent
Boom box potential
Not there
Under that shady tree?
An innocent slope
guarantees airbed roll-together
Not there
Here!
Scour the ground
Five upended beer bottle tops
Jagged edges are tiny cookie cutters to slice the tent floor
Uplift them
Peg it down, anchor it
Our home
Such a fragile refuge
19
22)
SUNDAY MORNING IN THE KOWHAI TREE
Services begin at sunrise
when dressed in lacy finery,
The congregation are flocking
To perch in the pews of the kowhai tree.
The parson struts the guttering
in his clerical attire,
delivering his sermon
accompanied by the boisterous choir.
And when the final hymns been sung,
and all the blessings given.
They take to iridescent wings,
an aerial display just for heaven.
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23)
SUPERHERO AT THE MANGER
Spiderman watches
Toddlers gather round
a newborn baby in a basket
An angel in a white tutu
wings askew, leans to gaze with wonder
Mary gently strokes his head
Joseph tugs back his tea towel headdress
bends to play with tiny fingers
A shepherd in a dressing gown grins
as his Dad angles a camera
A sudden flash of red and black
startles the star of Bethlehem
standing proudly on a chair
He wobbles
Spiderman pushes into the circle
peers into the crib
Superhero at the manger
The baby gazes up at surrounding faces
His eyes shine at Spiderman
Welcome
21
24)
THE LADY OF THE BAY
Drive down her collarbone
watching the water
over her shoulders
white-capped and gnashing to the north
smooth and serene to the south
ready for a picnic
where her good mood lies.
Well she used to be all about holidays now she is older and more suburban.
Retirees and young families
nestle in her folds.
Her one-legged body
takes an age to drive down.
She might get
a prosthetic leg
to speed up the commute.
She floats in the Bay of Whales
gazing out at the islands
grinning
with her pest proof smile.
Come in darlings No dogs allowed!
Her hair teems with tui and golf balls.
Bang! go her guns and her traps
and the kererū and kākāriki flap.
22
25)
THE PEG OBSESSION
She had pegs for everything
for the shade cloth over the buggy
for her maternity pants that were falling off
for closing up bags of rice and pasta.
She pegged together their family
held everyone close with plastic and wire
meant for something else;
quite good if it didn’t fade in the sunlight
and fall apart.
She pegged together the solutions and the parties –
brought people together
and strung them up on the washing line
with extra pegs
if they were prone to misbehave.
When she started to come undone
she pegged up her sides
but her motivation fell out.
She pegged up her dreams
but the wind blew them away
and she wondered
if she didn’t
have
pegs for everything.
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26)
THE FIGMENT
creep creep
over the hills
into the darkness
I glide
past the people
I am
a character
in someone's imagination
I hear the laughter
as I sneak
I see the ease
as they joke
I am a stick girl
pointy and vulnerable
without teeth
for smiling
creep creep creep
someone stop me
hug me
allow me
to be
not just in a dark cave
where my body
becomes the air
unseen
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27)
THE STING OF DEATH DENIED
Dust to dust, they have said,
Brings me nothing, but deep despair,
Contemplating who my spirit receive,
Should I know, I’ll be relieved.
Await my end I am told,
Waste not, my precious soul.
In His arms, I’ll find my rest,
As He waits to give me, His very best.
Dare I believe,
Or allow trials and tribulations to deceive,
Life’s challenges unable to defeat.
Let’s drink, let’s drug, let’s be merry,
Let’s pervert the justice of the afflicted, oh life’s so scary.
Give strong drink and I will perish,
I am of bitter heart, nothing to cherish.
I will forget and remember my misery and sorrow no more,
I’ve laid bare my pain, my soul I did pour.
Aah, aah, along came my gallant Knight, my handsome beau,
He rescued me with His words of love so true.
Now I live life refreshed as the morning dew,
I am alive, full of life, feeling ever so new.
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28)
SOLOMON’S LOVE SONG
I am dark and so lovely, my kindreds my loves,
Like the tents of Kedar, a covering of Cedar.
I am dark by the sun have I been tanned,
Not by the hands of humans have I been made,
But by His Pierced Hands, a price He so willingly paid.
Tell me O’ whom I love,
Am I in Your eyes beheld like a dove?
So why should it be I who veils herself,
While the flock of Your companions make their presence felt.
If you do not know O’ fairest among women,
It’s your love and companion I have chosen,
I would rather lay in your tender bosom,
And not in the arms of ice maidens so frozen.
I have compared you, my love, my beautiful one,
To My filly, My feisty one.
Your cheeks are lovely like ornaments aglow,
Your neck with chains of different assortments for show.
Adorned with studs of silver and gold,
A heritage befitting a queen I am told.
So there He is my rugged beloved,
A chief among ten thousand uncovered.
His head like the finest gold,
His locks between my fingers unfold.
His eyes like pearls so fitly set,
Like fountains and rivers of water so uniquely met.
His body, carved ivory inlaid with sapphires,
His legs like pillars of marble sets my heart on fire.
His countenance, a fresh breeze, O’ so sunny,
His mouth so sweet, his lips like dripping honey,
I’m lovesick, I tell you, it’s not funny.
This is my beloved O’ daughters of my Father,
What more can I ask for, if not Him, then I falter,
And my life lay waste on the adulterous alter.
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29)
THIS MERE MORTAL
Sweat-drenched hair and shirt. Intent, as he honed, hewed, pondered and
wondered until the shapes became.
Creative power free, as he sculpt the belly of this once mighty tree.
With magic in his hands and love in his heart
Papa Tuanuku mother earth, and Rangi sky father,
took part, joined by Ua the rain - Rangi’s teardrops and
Ra, the powerful sun.
Earth sat firmly twixt sky and sun and the game of
light and dark frolicked like happy children
around and about these legendary forces of nature.
The spirit of ‘Tane,’ upright and strong prevailed
in the powerful bird-like head - direction intense.
Fueled by the strength of his spiritual belief, he defined
the landscape of his fantasy.
Inner compulsion and personal satisfaction - fulfilled.
He smiled – observation shared, my interest accepted.
“Flower baskets will hang from its boughs
and enhance the symbols of beauty,” he vowed
The essence of their Mana, the Harmony ,the give and take, fused
with Te Mauri Ora, the flow of well-being its
cultural heart-beat.
We quietly enjoyed the moment and the magic of imagination.
30)
SPRING (Haiku Japanese 3-line poems)
Suddenly it’s there
A bouquet of clematis
Showing off its spring dress
31)
DAPPLED SKY
Sun-down dappled sky
Slivers of silver and black
Mackerel night clouds
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32)
WISHES
What would it be if I could see
Only one thing before I die…
My mother's face , so full of grace
or my child still young and free?
So many moments of joy I could choose
So many yet to be had
How can I make a decision like this?
Many reasons I've had to be glad
Chocolate , fine wine, a view of the sea,
the warmth of my Baby's breath?
The comfort of friends in my darker days
are memories that linger beneath,
So how would I choose as I go to rest?
My soul rising up to the sky,
my family around to hold my hand,
and a slice of Mums Apple Pie!
33)
TANKA 1 (Japanese for “short songs”, 5 lines, no title)
Mauve jacarandas
there – harbinger of Christmas.
Here, pohutukawas
Bleed red like my heart
trying to be festive.
34)
TANKA 2
Spider’s web
swaying in the wind
delicate as a doyley –
I hope the windowcleaner
appreciates it too.
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