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Saturday, August 2, 2008

Wildflowers Dance in the Morning Sunlight, July 2008

Wildflowers dance In the morning sunlight. No one called them forth; They chose their spot, And there dropped seed, Sprouting, to beckon me forth, To start, once more, my day. --JW, 8/02/08 Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

So Many Signs, So Little Direction

So Many Signs, So Little Direction Revolving doors, Sucking people In off the street, And spitting others Back out again, Into the cold. Electronic elevators, Raising some up, Taking others Back down. Up or down- It's just the same. Ever busy: Going up and down; In and out; Always on the go. Going nowhere, In such a hurry. More self-help books, Than ways to turn; More recliner chairs, Than time to recline; More clothes to wear, Than closet space. Always more; Never satisfied. Human hunger Knows... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Memorial Day Lament, 2008

An Illusive Freedom - A Memorial Day Lament Four thousand US troops, plus some, Each died in his or her own way. For each, it was just another day, Waking up to heat and sand. It was Iraq, could be Iran; Then again, Afghanistan. For each, it was just one more day, The way they knew to get their pay. Some driven by desire to serve; Some, indifferent, needing a meal, And rescue from the city street, Not knowing they, their end would meet. Four thousand with a mom somewhere; Some never knew their... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

The Sistine Chapel Ceiling After 500 Years: Shadows Fall on Eden, 1508-2008

Shadows Fall on Eden, 1508-2008 Five hundred long years ago, Did sculptor Michelangelo, Bend to the Pope's demand, And paint a ceiling to command. Cracked and dirty, it did become, Like all things finite, less than pristine. Yet for it famous the Chapel Sistine, From tens of thousands, admiration won. While Japanese paid to have it cleaned, Here still smoke-stained, caught my eye. When Eve and Adam the apple gleaned, Death and decay followed close by. Even their clothes the moths did sunder,... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

And A Day Will Come, When All Sorrow Shall Pass Away, 2008

"And A Day Will Come, When All Sorrow Shall Pass Away" Yes, there are times, when dawn is met with joy. The mind races to meet the prospects of the day. How glad of heart, for such times we are! So thankful, for life, for another chance, To try our hand at living out our dreams; To polish that text started the night before. Yet, there are times, when dawn draws forth our fears, And sleep, if not restful, respite from life did give. Glad we had been for night to lift our weighty burden, To bury... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Little Mermaid, Keep Your Voice Alive

Little Mermaid, keep your voice alive! Little Mermaid, Life I know Can be so painfully hard. For some of us, A miracle, This far to come. To cut short our days But lengthens time for regret, And will not end the pain. But pain and sorrow Will not flee, Until something stronger Takes its place, For nature, you know, A vacuum, will not allow. --Courtjester, for Purple Mermaid11, 4/13/2008 Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

4000 Fallen, Salvaging George's "Working Pump," Iraq, April 2008

Left center image, front page, Chicago Tribune, 4/11/2008; right image, detail from the memorial to each individual American soldier killed in the Iraq War, thus far; background: larger details of same, from St. James Episcopal Cathedral, Chicago, 4/12/2008. Oh! By George! Can't you see How delusional You can be? Letting people die, To save your face, Now truly that is, A major disgrace. --Courtjester, 4/12/2008 Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Traces of Times Past

"Black Death's Last Trace, Norfolk, England, 2007" (Originally uploaded to Flickr, August 11, 2007, see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walford/1083848273/in/set-72157594426856506 ) "Where hammer, the anvil once struck, now the solitary skylark sings" Where once was heard the sound of hammer striking anvil, And the shouts and cries of children running in the streets, Now skylark sings, and grasses bend with the wind; All village life now stilled, no more the bell does toll. Black Death, spared... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, April 7, 2008

We Lie Awake And Wonder

Each one, in his or her own bed, Lies awake and wonders. Staring into the silent darkness Feeling abandoned, and alone. This one, laid off from work, Lacking immigration papers. He wonders how to feed the family, As the monthly bills keep coming. Was it so bad, that long ago, He, the wired border crossed, In stealthy cover of darkness, With hungry wife and child? For all these years, for night shifts, He ran the company presses. But the new boss, he lets him go, No papers, and the press stands... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Just When I Think To See

"Just When I Think To See" Just when I think I see, Cloud covers the sun, And chill sets over my world. Moisture collects on the window, Like those endless drops of sadness: One student with forty stitches in Her once bright young face. Another whose dad reaches Too much for the bottle. Another friend, doing battle With a brain tumor, Losing ground, and Watched by two small Children, and his wife. Tears stream down, inside, Like water droplets on my window. Yet, deep down, under the cloud,... Sign in to see full entry.

About this Blog

Courtjester, an art historian, currently studying satire in Netherlandish art, an amateur photographer, and occasional writer, writes here about art, photography, and the human condition. I also write ekphratic poetry--that is imaginative, poetic responses to works of visual art, conceived as a form of art responding to art. I welcome dialog about art, photography, human behavior, beliefs, and motivation from all-comers, regardless of race, color, gender, orientation, values, or beliefs. This is to be a site for words and images, as vehicles of human expression, around topics of mutual interest.

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