The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Sunday's Sermon From The Fort Worth Art Exhibition

Hey,

One of the things that I was pleased to find when I discovered this forum was that Poetry & Art are given a place for presentation and discussion. I like that because I perceive that my soul needs the Arts for me to be a good human being because creating art, in any form, and presenting it with the desire to both be seen and to touch the lives of others, is such a gloriously human thing we do. So, please know that I’ve spent several enjoyable hours perusing the Essays and the Art & Poetry listings, reading your works, the works you shared, and your commentaries.

I’m a new guy and probably, like it is for anyone new visiting an ecclessia, there is hesitancy to respond too much beyond politeness, especially if the new guy is perceived as, “coming on a bit strong,” or some of the things the new guy says seem a bit, well, weird…
So, since I’m now a week out from my introduction and my first post (with forty-six look-see’s and no comments. It is a long read, isn’t it?), I thought I’d try something different to help you get to know me better, apart from the smattering of replies I’ve managed to post.

Without any further ado, then, here is one of my poems.

[size=150]Sunday’s Sermon from the Fort Worth Art Exhibition[/size]

[size=150]P[/size]aint, perfectly placed
with the perfected skill
of mind and eye and hand;
portraits that reconsider
our common life,
here on display,
so we’ll pause and understand.

With techniques they trace
to the ancient masters,
they intricately interlace
Color and Line
and Shadow and Space
and Figure and Ground,
with consummate grace.

These fellow humans
who’ve chosen to illumine our souls
with the truths they’ve bound
in imagery gross and graceful,
subtle and seductive,
provocative and profound.

[size=150]A[/size]nd pictures made without paint
are here for us, too;
Science and Art
reaching together
through this unique and new
point of view.

Manipulating light
with innovative machines,
they capture quite eloquently
the identity and whimsy
of animals and people
and all the fantastic places
and all the fantastic things
that compose our shared reality;
exposing for our study,
everything in our sight,
guiding us to glimpse
the brilliance we miss
in our harried, daily flight.

[size=150]A[/size]nd here’s a new expression
I’m very pleased to see -
they use computers
to illustrate accurately
the shape of the Wisdom
in our universe
through the astute eyes
of mathematical realities!

[size=150]N[/size]ow we’re underneath
an ingenious form!
Balanced precariously;
sensitive to this gentle breeze;
delicately dancing—
swaying and turning—
like the sword of Damocles.

A form without function,
yet functioning just the same.
A Mobile,
but, immobile:
what’s revealed in a name?

[size=150]H[/size]ere we pause to contemplate
succulent, sensuous shapes;
solid where they stand;
seducing our eye and hand.
Epigones they’ve bequeathed
with an essence all their own;
tri-dimensional metaphors
drawn from wood and metal
and glass and stone.

[size=150]A[/size]nd here—
through dimensionality
they’ve embodied
the intimacy
in Human Sexuality.

A fleeting moment permanent;
suffused with differing texture;
lovingly diffusive of light;
a Man and Woman embrace—
and a Child,
whose Father and Mother
hold docile,
erotically beguiled.

**-[size=150]A[/size]**nd now,
tired from emotion
and all this walking about,
I squeeze your ever-present hand
as we sit a few minutes out
of the flow of passing people,
whom we watch with keener insight—
trying to get it right…

[size=85]To My Molly Girl
Thanks for the day!
Dennis Martin
April 26-30, 2006[/size]

Cool! I’m from Ft. Worth and love art myself. Here’s my favorite painting by Cindy Skillman called “The Watcher” with something I wrote for it:

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15027825_329470594098995_669417166969691557_n.jpg?oh=1d77d1f6d20b600dbc8ebc57f1376191&oe=58C31232

The Eye Of Life

The Eye of Life is watching, every move I make
Ready to show Her Beauty, with every breath I take

The life that circles around me, attracts to Her loving hold
The love that The Watcher has, never leaves their spirit cold

The Eye of Life is watching, every move I make
Her tender breaths surround me, with every step I take

Wanting to heal & comfort, my heart does always mend
When I’m in the arms, of my loving Watcher Friend

Good lines. I like to meditate on art or pause and understand like you say and then write a poem on what I feel.

Loved the choice of rhyming. Especially the beginning of how artists intricately interlace color and line.

Exactly. This is how I feel about “The Watcher” painting above. It illumines my soul seductively with things that are true for me at least.

I like the pictures without paint too. I’ve been to the Art museum a few times here and enjoyed it. But my favorite are the paintings. I see things a new when the artist is a good one.

Although I like fantasy better the realistic art is good too. Also, your lines here flowed nicely. Especially:

Good rhyming though the section also. Loved it.

Nicely penned. I also loved the wisdom of the universe revealed through mathematics. I’m not the best mathematician but I can see the beauty of it.

I use the metaphor of dancing a lot in my writings. The gentle breeze delicately dancing was nice as it sways and turns.

Love how the shapes seduce the eye and hand. Also loved how you rhymed here.

Wow. Loved the creative energy of the erotic here.

Makes me want to visit the Art Museum here in Ft. Worth again. Nice journey you took me on. Thanks for sharing.

Greetings, St. Michael!

I am much appreciative of the good words you typed about my poem. Thank you. It is always satisfying to discover that a fellow human being simply, “gets it.” Please know that I have enjoyed the poems you’ve contributed as I perused the poetry posts. However I didn’t recall reading The Eye of Life there and a search did not uncover it elsewhere on this forum. May I assume that this is your first presentation of, The Eye of Life?

It is an unusual one for you, isn’t it, for the couplets? What struck me the most (after making sure Sting’s “Every Breath You Take,” wasn’t influencing the scansion: hey, familiarity is what it is!) was the personification of the eye as feminine. The abstract nature of the work, of course, leaves it open to interpretation and I enjoyed your inclusion of the feminine in your interpretation as I let the drawing soak in. I felt the warmth in the desire to feel the embrace she seemed ready and willing to give. What I also noticed was the pluralization you used in line four: “The love that The Watcher has, never leaves their spirit cold,” making the Watcher an object of delight for all who sense her attentive presence.

Later, I found Cindy Skillman’s drawing with the search tool and was pleased to find her own little commentary on it. Quite a different presentation! But, that is the satisfaction with art: It can be presented as specific as it needs to be for the artist to be satisfied that the symbolism is conveyed, yet it can exist as unspecific as someone else needs it to be to feel satisfied in what the symbolism conveys to them. Criminiy, I hope that makes sense!

So, do you still dwell in Ft. Worth? As I’m sure you know, there are two very cool art museums West of downtown, The Amon Carter and my favorite The Kimball, as well as the relatively new and quite exotic Museum of Modern Art in downtown. Yep, not everything in Ft. Worth is about Cowboys and cows! But I have enjoyed the history of that art and poetry; there’s nothing like the earthy humor in cowboy poetry and there’s nothing like examining a Fredrick Remington bronze up close and personal!

My poem was written a few years after I remarried. We skipped church that day to visit the exposition. You know, it’s a good thing to discover that you can impress your bride by simply expressing the emotions such an exhibition can generate. That was the inspiration for the poem and I still remember the details of that day as clearly as the day of my marriage.

Like I’ve said elsewhere, I like being human, it’s a very good thing to be!

Again, thank you St. Michael for the gratifying reply.

Dennis!