Thursday, May 04, 2006

Poetry Thursday




This quilt that I made in October was inspired by lines from Ars Poetica.







Ars Poetica

A poem should be palpable and mute
As a globed fruit,


Dumb
As old medallions to the thumb,


Silent as the sleeve-worn stone
Of casement ledges where the moss has grown --


A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds.



A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs,


Leaving, as the moon releases
Twig by twig the night-entangled trees,


Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,
Memory by memory the mind --


A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs.


A poem should be equal to:
Not true.


For all the history of grief
An empty doorway and a maple leaf.


For love
The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea --


A poem should not mean
But be.


~Archibald MacLeish

My April reading list is posted here.

7 comments:

  1. I remember that quilt but had forgotten (or maybe never knew?) that it was inspired by a poem. Cool!

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  2. A lovely quilt and a beautiful poem.

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  3. DebR, I just posted the lines about the "night entangled trees" when I wrote about the quilt originally. But the lines were in my head as soon as the first tree was on.

    Micki, thanks. I've always loved that poem.

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  4. I always find the lines
    'For all the history of grief
    An empty doorway and a maple leaf'
    so poignant.

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  5. i love that this poem inspired your gorgeous quilt. Thank you for sharing these words that are new to me. I love those last two lines!

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  6. Jen - love your tree quilt - very inspiring to see one done in black and white... hmmm PP

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  7. I love the poem and the quilt. I've been experimenting with gray quilts - haven't gotten the art part down yet, but trying.

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Good to hear from you!