Thought for the Day

Maybe the only gift is a chance to inquire,

to know nothing for certain. An inheritance

of wonder and nothing more.

~ William Least Heat-Moon

_____________________________

Quoted from William Least Heat-Moon, Blue Highways (1982, 2012), E-book; Epigraph, Chapter 19 of Florence Williams's Heartbreak (W.W. Norton, 2022), page 226

William Least Heat-Moon, American Travel Writer, Historian

Florence Williams, American Journalist, Author, Podcaster

Thought for the Day

Poetry

is  the moment of your presence

written

when you leave

~ Alireza Roshan

___________________________

Quoted from Alireza Roshan, "Seven Poems from Iran" in World Literature Today, Autumn 2020, page 16 (Translations of the poems are provided by Erfan Mojib and Gary Gach.)

Alireza Roshan, Iranian Poet and Author

New Artist Watch Feature at Escape Into Life

 

Steven Kenny, The Ribbons, 2015

Oil on Canvas, 40" x 28"

 

 © Steven Kenny

PLEASE DO NOT COPY IMAGE

 

 

It is with much delight that today's new Artist Watch column at the international online arts magazine Escape Into Life presents the gorgeous work of painter Steven Kenny.

 

In his paintings, Steven focuses most often on the human figure paired with elements found in nature. The relationships he creates with these pairings address not only how humans function with each other and Earth but also how we steward our own emotional, intellectual, and psychological landscapes. To view his paintings is to engage on journeys of self-exploration and discovery while at the same time being able to appreciate the work for its mystery and extraordinary beauty.

Today's Artist Watch showcases seven images from a current (2021) body of work and includes an eighth from an earlier period (see image above). Also included are Steven's Artist Statement, a biography, and Steven's social media addresses.

Thought for the Day

When there is no desire,

all things are at peace.

~ from Tao Te Ching

_____________________________

Quoted from Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (trans. by S. Mitchell), Chapter 37

 

Lao Tzu, Chinese Philosopher (also known as Laozi), 6th C BCE

Late Winter (Poem)

Late Winter

Palm trees in El Paso

are haloed in snow

 

rarer in mid-March

than the Russian tanks

 

bombarding a Mariupol shoe

factory, the psychiatric

 

hospital, a maternity ward,

apartments emptying to

 

missiles. A hotel sauna, 

a subway — deepest space

 

underground — targeted 

humanitarian corridors

 

hemmed with smoking autos,

plastic bags and rolling

 

luggage left behind.

Unknowing, toddlers

 

learn a new version

of the old game of hide-

 

and-seek among little Putin's

soldiers. The trains run

 

east with food and water.

The trains run west with

 

mothers, wives, the too-

old, the under-eighteen.

 

What would help most is

another poem from Ilya,

 

read aloud in the square

in Odessa; not sandbags,

 

not Molotovs, but arms

to run into, fingers brushing

the blush from soft cheeks

on this late winter morning.

 

Rev. 3-14-22

Thought for the Day

Love is nothing but a mattress made of needles.

~ Tom Sleigh

____________________________

Quoted from Tom Sleigh, "Up the Hill" in The King's Touch: Poems (Graywolf Press, 2022), page 19

Tom Sleigh, American Poet, Dramatist, Essayist, Distinguished Professor in Hunter College MFA Program

 

Audiovideo Recording of "Age of Wonder" (For others from Sleigh's new collection, go here.)