Fall's Leaves (Reverse Cinquain)

Fall's Leaves

Weary,
they slip to ground, their once-green skins —
now worn mottled coats — shed
in autumn's own
dust-up.

2017 © Maureen E. Doallas

This is a "reverse cinquain", its lines comprising, in order, 2, 8, 6, 4, and 2 syllables. See the prompt at Tweetspeak Poetry and contribute your own poem.

Thought for the Day

What are we without winds becoming words?

~ Joy Harjo

___________________________

Quoted from Joy Harjo's poem "Becoming Seventy" in Poetry, September 2017, p. 502

Joy Harjo (Mvskoke Nation), Poet and Writer, Musician/Composer, Performing Artist

Joy Harjo on FaceBook and YouTube

New Artist Watch Feature at Escape Into Life

Aixa Oliveras, The Night Within Creates Stars, 2016

Oil on Round Wood Panel, 8" Tondo

© Aixa Oliveras

PLEASE DO NOT COPY IMAGE

I'm delighted to present the paintings of Puerto Rico-born artist Aixa Oliveras in my Artist Watch column today at Escape Into Life.

Currently pursuing a master's degree in fine arts at Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Beach, California, Aixa has participated in a number of group exhibitions and has placed as a finalist in juried shows. One of her paintings is in the public Reyes-Veray Collection of Puerto Rican artists.

For today's Artist Watch feature, Aixa has provided five images of recent paintings, her Artist Statement, a brief biography, and a list of her social media sites. 

Learning the Math

Learning the Math

We divided, then subtracted,
one from two,
the one who stayed
never saying goodbye.

She'd given back his love
notes, the Christmas cards,
the years of keeping house,
Yuri's gold-leaf peacock

in its gold-leaf frame.
He'd taken two paintings
she didn't want, thrown
out the two-dogs'

leash, tried to explain why
he'd transferred money
from their joint account.
He barely understood

her need for space,
or time to write her poems
in that room — her own.
She couldn't accept

his need to work those
twelve to sixteen hours
daily, the Saturday
mornings he'd spend away.

What difference did
forgiveness make
when time too mean
with words ill-said

broke her, broke her
mind even more
than her heart. No-contest
was agreed-to,

their settlement cold cash,
one from two arranged
so neatly, how all math
works, its lesson learned.

© 2017 Maureen E. Doallas

Thought for the Day

Never say you know the last word about any human heart.

~ Henry James

________________________

Quoted from Henry James's Short Story "Louisa Pallant" (1888) (The quotation is used in the opening of William Boyd's novel Any Human Heart: The Intimate Journals of Logan Mountstuart (2002). The novel received the Prix Jean Monnet.)

Henry James (1843-1916), Novelist, Short Story Writer, Poet 

The Ladder, a Henry James Website

Henry James at The Literature Network

William Boyd, Novelist

Thought for the Day

. . . One of the ways we survive darkness. . .

is to find reasons to laugh.

~ Ayobami Adebayo

_____________________________

Quoted from Patrik Henry Bass, "Great Expectations: An Interview with Ayobami Adebayo", The Paris Review, August 9, 2017

Ayobami Adebayo, Novelist 

Ayobami Adebayo Website

Adebayo's debut novel is Stay with Me (Penguin Random House, August 22, 2017).

Thought for the Day

What does the word last mean in moments of desolation?

~ John Berger

_________________________

Quoted from John Berger, "John Berger Contemplates Life and Death at the Graveside of Mahmoud Darwish: A Writer and a Poet in Communion", at Literary Hub, August 9, 2017 (This essay is from the Introduction to Mahmoud Darwish's Mural, translated by John Berger and Rema Hammami (Verso Books, 2009, 2017).

Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008), Palestinian National Poet

John Berger (1926-2017), Art Critic, Writer, Novelist