Friday, August 01, 2008

praise


and even if you haven't asked
the ferocity I see in your eyes is really praise

the left eye overflowing with a compassion of tears
the right eye damned where the Father stands archived and

disguised the promise is that the hand that gives
takes away nor bird nor snake nor fish can stay it

nor ringed fingers nor hard stones nor veils
nor things visible or invisible nor words

nor the blackened silences of things half-formed
nor oaths nor obligations of a thousand years

of clouded windows and passing lovers or strangers
it is there in the etcetera of praise in ruined newsprint

lifted by the wind and blown and dissolved in a sea
of rain water and even if you haven't looked

it is there in both the promise and the praise
it is there in all of these and none of these

it is Alpha and Omega it is the Beginning and the End
thank you thank you thank you oh thank you


Painting: Rick Mobbs, praise

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good grief, this is astonishing. Wow.

paisley said...

joyce,, this was stellar.. just an amazing piece..

Anonymous said...

joyce, how powerful and awesome, in a godlike awesome sense. You captured the blast of energy of the painting, and translated it into a big Myth of Life and Death. Wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Right. I've just done what I so frequently do - fired off comments without doing my research! I've commented on three of your poems on your poem blog, surprised at the low response rate. And then I came here and found that this is actually where you live! I'm glad that the poems already have an appreciative public (including my friend Jo!)

Anonymous said...

oh my god, joyce, what a piece of work! if only to see this emerge makes all the work worth the effort. please let me know if I have missed any others. I need to find (time and)a better way to catalog these things...

Anonymous said...

Dear Joyce,

this takes Rick's image to another level. It is as if you were seeing and reaching into his amazing image and taking us from great universal insights to the very personal. Wow indeed. Wonderful work.
Just a hello and an acknowledgment from a sometime contributor to Rick Mobbs' image prompts...

In praise,

Nan De

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Thank you. Do you all know something I don't know? (All my life whenever I receive a lot of praise, I think people all know I am going to kick the bucket very soon, so they are all being very nice to me before I go....).

Anonymous said...

Hey Joyce, I'm back. What an incredible trip.

I am writing because I honestly think your change takes away some of the poem's power. A lot of it, actually. Have you gotten other feedback? I think you could go with either but for me the "thank you" brings the poem back into the realm of the ordinary. Even though it is true.

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Hi, Rick! I'm back, too, after an incredible week! I'm glad you and Broadus had a great time. I thought about you while I was away, and wrote another poem for you which I will try to post today...I have sooo much junk to put away, clothes to wash. I spent $106 on books....but I never consider books to be an extravagance.

Keep Praise the way you like it! I'm easy....

Anonymous said...

I read it again and now I don't know.

Glad your trip went well. I over-spent, too, but it was worth it.

Patty Butts said...

Keep up the good work, my friend. When are you going to publish your book of poetry? As a pragmatist, I frequently wonder how your mind works with that quirky bud of genius. I know your I.Q. and others pale in comparison, including me. But, oh my friend, within you I see compassion, empathy, and tolerance beyond compare.
regards,
Patty Butts,