What's going on, Albuquerque?

The Sunday Poem: Gina Marselle... Time Traveler

Poems about paintings always lead off the canvas. And in the case of a painting of a crow, your journey could be a long one.

Gina Marselle is a poet, photographer, teacher and single mom whose impact on the poetry community includes collaborating with local poets, and coordinating the Open Space Visitor Center’s semi-annual “Poetry in Place” event connecting people to place through poetry. She has been work published in the Rag, The Sunday Poem series, the Alibi, and in the forthcoming Adobe Walls anthology. Gina's photography has been shown at Black Market Goods, .
Church of Beethoven, and her photography work is represented by Chroma Studios. The banner photo is by L.T.

TIME TRAVELER
(This poem is inspired by NM Artist’s Cari Pier’s painting titled “Time Traveler”)

there's this one crow i see when i'm out running
or walking to the store
or looking at a painting
he cries to me
in aching sadness
i imagine his tone is heard throughout the travels of time
droning in his wing flap
gliding
like an ancient bomber hums over summer desert winds
with his paper shadow kite suspended in animation along the mesa
he moves from the blue of earth to the hours of darkness
his intuition is guided by dim stars
his stone gaze always searching

like an ancient compass
never falters
his sorrow echoes
inside my meditative dreamscape
we meet again
i carry my paintbrush like a bronze sword
he paints his journey from the tip of his painted feathers
to the roundness of pale moon
his oboe heart beats in melodic sobs
with the drum of earth beating in waves

find center
search for the middle path
enlightenment is found in some lapis lazuli spectrum
and i notice that the crow holds heaven in his wing span

he survives as a scavenger
picks
tears
rips at the flesh of his own heart
he makes no qualms
he is lost
on this path
the earth’s flight lines have crossed
colors are blending
everything is murky

lone crow caws
and i weep
in aching sadness
like travelers of time
my path
his flight
echoes
from the blue of earth
to the black hours of darkness
we dance
to notes painted in depression
across the landscape
our hearts bleeding all of this time
flooding the path with sadness

now what to do
as the crow soars into an abyss
mediation brings me to the edge
of a dream

i survive as an artist
paint
dab
push paint across the canvas of my heart
i make no qualms
i am lost
on this path
the earth’s topography bleeds
blending pigments
until everything is murky

so i paint a path
in the center
and i walk upon it
every day
it's getting worn
becoming familiar

there's this one crow i see when i'm out running
or walking to the store
or looking at a painting
he cries to me
in aching sadness

so i painted a path for him….

Poetry submissions are encouraged. Email TheDitchRider@gmail.com.

0 members like this

Comment by Stephanie James on August 15, 2010 at 10:18am: Ravens come to me. I was once witness to a raven's funeral. The raven looked at me as it lay dying. Raven's filled teh trees around me paying noisy reverence. Corvus mythology says that when you witness one devouring it's prey, you will see days of plenty in your own life. Great poem. Thanks.

Comment by Ben Moffett on August 15, 2010 at 5:02pm: I loved the poem although I have always thought of crows as loud, garrulous, showoffs and bullies, and not a bird that cries in sadness, although a single crow call certainly fits that role. The painting is striking, the poem poignant and they go together nicely. Thanks, Gina.

Comment by Gina M on August 15, 2010 at 7:48pm: Thank you so much for publishing this poem, and the painting looks gorgeous. Thank you also to Stephanie and Ben for reading my poem and for your comments. paz, gina

Comment by Merimee Moffitt on August 16, 2010 at 7:13am: Gina, I was looking yesterday for the Sunday Poem but my machine wouldn't link to this ethereal poem--I do love your personal deep honest emotion. I love the crow and you seeing him on the mesa. I love your flights of fancy as you tell us about his colors and yours--really lovely. This poem would look wonderful written on a frame, or hung with a photo of yours. Your talent is moving--such a connection to earth and life. keep moving. xoxoox

Comment by Joan Fenicle on August 16, 2010 at 11:43am: Our ravens are crows are very intelligent birds with a large vocabulary. I've been told that young ravens stay with their parents up to two years because they have so much to learn - mostly language. Thanks for your beautiful poem and the painting.

Comment by Barelas Babe on August 16, 2010 at 9:27pm: I kept moving my eyes between the words and the painting as I read this - they complement each other and the experience of savoring them together is rich. Thank you, Gina!

Comment by Paula Manning-Lewis on August 17, 2010 at 12:30pm: The poem, the painting and the two beautiful women behind them are all amazing! Thanks for sharing!

Comment by Margaret Randall on August 21, 2010 at 8:09am: Gina, thank you for this beautiful poem. I'm late in responding because we have been out of town. Just got back, and went immediately to the Ditch Rider to see who was up on Sunday. I was not disappointed.