"VISUAL ART POETRY FUSION"
C Art Gallery of Seattle seeked artists and poets to participate in its first "Visual Art Poetry Fusion" show and exhibit, in honor of National Poetry Month. Visual artists were invited to submit in all mediums of art that is a reflection of themselves--their culture, mood. Poets were invited to preview the juried works, and selected a painting "as the subject of the poem to be developed."
My artwork is called "Temporary Fix," and the poet who selected my painting is Kia C. Franklin. Ms. Franklin has been writing and performing spoken word, organizing open mics, and contributing poetry and prose to literary magazines since winning a local competition as a high school student in 1998. Two of her greatest honors as a poet were being asked to write and perform a poem for her brother's wedding, and being invited to write and perform a poem at Georgetown University's Annual Martin Luther King, Jr.,Celebration featuring Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Bernice King. Her scholarly writings have been published in The Root, The Nation, The Houston Chronicle, Newsday, and other national publications. Kia now writes about life, grief, art, and the writing practice on her personal blog, www.girlwomansoul.blogspot.com.
A Poem for People Who Want Answers©
by Kia C. Franklin 2010
An ocean of ink spills across page,
A cleansing, rewriting worries into problems solved
Painting this troubled canvas til it looks like Freedom,
Is ready to wave itself high
Fly, above war torn families who can't stomach a Memorial Day barbecue
Above fist-pumping youth on the Gaza, now just bodies, who wanted answers and got them, wanted aid and got none
Above Dear Leader's muffled masses, fearing nuclear vengence from unexplained sunken warships
Ready to wave itself high, fly
A freed bird, unsoiled by blackened waters
Untouched by dark addictions that long seeped into the culture of we changelings, we hopefuls who said "Yes We Can!" but didn't know how we would
If I could, I'd let the ink spill across every newspaper page
Paint over rage and hateful laws that tell us the solution to all of our angst is to question each other's right to be
Right to stand on this patch of soil or that
Right to speak this colonial tongue or that
Right to write our opinions on page, paper or web, and invite others to dialogue
I'd paint mountains into those sharp lines that trace the movement of the Euro, the Dollar, the Yuan
Splash blood-red dancing question marks across each country flag, begging the question
Who are we?
Will we ever be able to gather all our politics and in one giant cipher have a moment of reckoning where we see our own political guessword as it is, acknowledge how fragile we, and our so-called solutions, really are?
Will we ever commit to discarding flimsy slogans and empty rhetoric, because deep down we all know we need more than a strong cork to plug this oil spill?
We need real, true, progress that only happens through struggle, through community, that only emerges when we refuse to act with impunity, when we accept ourselves as flawed, fumbling, bumbling things who've been looking for a temporary fix to long- term probems and have only found getting dirtier and more confused in the process
If I could, I'd let ink spill across newspaper page and canvas, rely on divine inspiration to paint a clear picture of who we are and who we must become if we intend to leave this place in one piece and in working order for our children
I'd paint over this troubled canvas until it betrays a glint of hope, and I'd let the page wave high, fly, like a freedom flag we all would willingly and sincerely salute.
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| "Temporary Fix" 11 X 14 Acrylic |
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