Shall I sit
complacent?
Stilled
as if painted upon a wall?
Indelible street art
disintegrating in time?
No.
Dreamers, Mother Earth,
I care.
I give voice.
I demonstrate.
I remonstrate.
I strive to keep her arm outstretched,
a beacon of hope
promised to all.
First photo is street art from our recent time in Valparaiso, Chile. Written for dVerse, the virtual pub for poets, where today Amaya is hosting and asks us to consider pentimento. A word about pentimento: this can refer to an alteration in a work of art…sometimes visible to the viewer, such as the shadow of a flower appearing in a painting of the forest; or the hidden woman’s face in the bent neck of Pablo Picasso’s “The Old Guitarist.” Shifting this into poetry, Amaya asks us to consider a time we changed our mind. Pentimento in Italian means “repentance” so Amaya suggests we think about a change for the greater good. This started me thinking about Martin Luther King, the 60s, and the recent political scene. No matter the partisan side you lean toward, the election of Donald Trump did create a voice of activism that had been stilled in recent years. I was one of many women who found my voice and demonstrated with my daughter on the day after his inauguration. The recent #metoo movement is another instance of finding voice.
lillian the home poet 
Great to have you back Lilian… I think the break did you well… love how you addressed complacency and what you can do…
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Thank you, Bjorn! Good to be back 🙂 Looking forward to Monday’s quadrille and hosting on Tuesday. It’s been too long.
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How creative to have used the well-intentioned scene of peace and love as street art juxtaposed to real-life minds, bodies, souls ‘getting up from the park bench’ and changing history. I also personally love how your poem places the role of the creator above the creation, something I was questioning with that Tolstoy paragraph. It’s not good enough to make good art; you have to be a work of art yourself.
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Ah….each person as a unique work of art…meaning, with value.
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Welcome back, Lilll! I’m so glad your poem was inspired by the street art you saw on your travels .’disintegrating in time’. I also like the rhyming in the the centre of the second stanza, surrounded by the image of the statue of Liberty.
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Thank you, Kim. Feels good to be back! Just posted today again…have been busy with grocery shopping, laundry etc….all those chores (including chasing dust bunnies) that happen after being away for a month. Will be good to do a quadrille again and host on Tuesday. 🙂
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🙂
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Love this Lillian. There is a verse that says “what Satan meant for evil, God meant for good”. It is in Genesis of Joseph’s life. I think of that when I think of our government. So many voices are stilled for so many reasons. I am going through a time of finding my own voice.
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May we all reclaim our voice! 🙂
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We are more than street art. That street art in the photo was beautiful.
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The street art in Valparaiso, Chile was remarkable. I’m sure more of it will make its way onto my site here 🙂
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Rock on, Lillian. Keep the protest flag flying. Lord knows there’s a world of folks who need to hear
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Oh yes! 🙂 Voices aplenty me thinks will be arising even more in the future days and months.
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Git em
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Brava.. 😎🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
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Thank you!
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Your love for art came through very strongly. I love the message of hope. Welcome back! 🙂
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Thanks, Vivian. Feels good to be back! Looking forward to hosting again on Tuesday 🙂
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👍
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you give courage to women to stand up and be brave for what we believe in, loved the piece of art from your travels, thank you for sharing.
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Ah yes…..we are all (men and women) finding our voice for matters we believe in. I prefer to think of that as hope 🙂 Glad you liked the street art from Valparaiso, Chile. I’m sure more will find its way into my posts in the coming months.
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It’s lovely to read your poetry again, and this one is no exception.
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Thank you thank you, my friend. Feels good to be back and I look forward to hosting again on Tuesday!
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Yes, we have been (re)turned. Too bad about what made it happen though…(K)
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Well, sometimes folks need a push….but I think this has been a shove!
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And they can’t seem to stop shoving…
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Lovely poem, and a lovelier street art picture!
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Thank you! The street art in Valparaiso is amazing. Glad you enjoyed the post!
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