Visual Poetry

29 October, 2025

Visual Poetry

I know I've said I hope that my images will go beyond words, and while this is basically true, some paintings strike me as visual poems. Or, at least, they seem like they could be accompanied by a poem - one that might somehow complete the meaning. When I'm asked to write descriptions of my work for an exhibition, I often wish my words were more poetic; but, not being a poet, I just do the best I can. Here is what I wrote for the painting above, Saviour:

"A flower-headed girl rescues a bird who has become entangled in some type of mesh, symbolizing the potential of humans to take action to defend wild creatures. The thorns around her neck indicate she has done this at some cost to herself. I believe we have an obligation to preserve and protect wild creatures, with whom we are intricately interconnected."

Not quite poetry, I admit. And so, I hope to write this post without too much 'blah blah blah' from me, and more actual poetic words from others instead.

It's in the Title

I like to use phrases from poems or song lyrics as titles for my work. As I pointed out in an earlier blog post, these are both great sources for titles. Below are some examples:

The Snow Queen

Moon Shadows

Secret Garden

Unto Us a Child is Born

The End of Innocence

Our Lady of the Harbour

Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Secret Garden 1

1. The Snow Queen (Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale) 2. The Blood-dimmed Tide (from The Second Coming by W.B. Yeats) 3. Moon Shadows (song lyric by Cat Stevens) 4. The Secret Garden (novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett) 5. Unto Us a Child is Born (the Bible) 6. The End of (the) Innocence (song by Don Henley) 7. Our Lady of the Harbour (from the song Suzanne by Leonard Cohen) 8. Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket (American folk aphorism/idiom) 9. Secret Garden 1 (novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, see above)

If I Were a Poet...

If I were a poet, and could speak with a poet's words, I might write this about my painting, Saviour, at the top of this post, or perhaps Ancestral Ground, below:

“remember” by joy harjo

Remember the sky that you were born under,

know each of the star’s stories.

Remember the moon, know who she is.

Remember the sun’s birth at dawn,

that is the strongest point of time.

Remember sundown

and the giving away tonight.

Remember your birth, how your mother struggled

to give you form and breath. You are evidence of

her life, and her mother’s, and hers.

Remember your father. He is your life, also.

Remember the earth whose skin you are:

red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth

brown earth, we are earth.

Remember the plants, trees,

animal life who all have their

tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,

listen to them. They are alive poems.

Better Words Than Mine

Silent Reflection, below, might best be described by these words by Rumi:

"Don’t think.

Don’t get lost in your thoughts.

Your thoughts are a veil

On the face of the moon.

That moon is your heart.

So let them go -

Just let them fall into the water."

Rumi

As often happens, while searching around the interwebs for poetry that describes or complements my work, I found something that made me alter the direction I had planned for this post.

This is it:

QUESTIONNAIRE

by Wendell Berry

1. How much poison are you willing

   to eat for the success of the free

   market and global trade? Please

   name your preferred poisons.

   
   

2. For the sake of goodness, how much

   evil are you willing to do?

   Fill in the following blanks

   with the names of your favorite

   evils and acts of hatred.

   
   

3. What sacrifices are you prepared

   to make for culture and civilization?

   Please list the monuments, shrines,

   and works of art you would

   most willingly destroy.

   
   

4. In the name of patriotism and

   the flag, how much of our beloved

   land are you willing to desecrate?

   List in the following spaces

   the mountains, rivers, towns, farms

   you could most readily do without.

   
   

5. State briefly the ideas, ideals, or hopes,

   the energy sources, the kinds of security,

   for which you would kill a child.

   Name, please, the children whom

   you would be willing to kill.

These words pierce my soul. When I first read them, I cried. I don't know if I have made any art worthy of this poem, but I only hope that one day, I will.

p.s. More on visual poetry coming soon. Wishing you peace, love, and art.