Or Have You Ever Noticed Erasure Patterns Within Fractals?
After Generations Lost by Helen Zughaib
Scattered on a multi-faceted quilted pond, women’s faces
emerge, each as though from the center of a lotus about to drown before sunset.
Eyes lined with kohl look alike. Their unanswered quest blurs the lines on the
receding oval faces. In midst of that fractal fragmentation some hands stand
out holding a blank sheet of paper, or were they once photographs of loved
ones, so old the image was erased by indifference as life goes by with its
dismembered seasons mixed pell-mell with gouache on that canvas like in a
kaleidoscope constantly reshuffling its patterns, relying upon the onlooker to
revisit the artist’s gaze over the drowning faces.
First published by About
Place: Dignity as an Endangered Species in the 21st Century
From Or Did You Ever See The Other Side? (Press 53 2023)
Or Have You Ever Wondered Why She Is Looking Back?
After
A Backward Glance by Charles Edward
Perugini
Hoping to make sense of the artist’s strokes,
the model sees the nape of her neck turn into
an unexpected dawn rising between her gathered
tresses and the low-cut black velvet dress.
Was he aware of the time spent applying the right
amount of eye shadow, a slight outline of kohl
and a touch of mascara? She even barely brushed
some blush over her lips, a natural look he favors.
And yet, her face is left offstage as the brushstrokes
add light to her naked back above the ruffled décolleté.
She watches the grain of skin sparkle like sand dunes
under midday sun, and drowns her sight within
the shaded area where so much is left unsaid.
First published by Third Wednesday Journal
From Or Did You Ever See The Other Side? (Press 53
2023)
Open-Air Roller Skating in Heliopolis
We'd
skate in the open-air Oasis cinema rink or the Roxy's, but later at the
Heliolido Sporting Club. We felt the wind ruffling our skirts as we would swirl
almost dervish-like, dizzy with the sight of a kaleidoscope of faces gathered
around the fence making us feel as though we were star performers as we
followed the rhythm of the latest songs. As we circled and circled endlessly,
conscious of every pair of eyes following our prowess, piercing our back,
quickening our heartbeat. It was as though we felt the rustling of unspoken
words draw scenes from the tumult of daydreams making us forget we still wore
socks and weren't yet allowed to wear any makeup.
When
decades later, I took my children to Rollerworld, in Kalamazoo, I was surprised
I could still maintain my balance. In that confined space, I felt estranged,
almost trapped inside the flashing lights and deafening music. I missed the
excitement of being out in the sun with the expectation of being on the lookout
for a glance, or a smile, at an age when that was enough to make us dream.
No comments:
Post a Comment