Landscape Runs in the Blood
Your Great Grandfather Jacob
painted water, and your Great Aunt
Rose painted water, and mountains,
and fields of flowers, and as you know,
both of your parents paint, your mother
the sky and roads and your father people
in the woods or just the woods, and your
sister has garnered significant attention
for her orchards, and her youngest child
is already expressing an interest
in ponds and deciduous trees, so yes,
your calderas and canyons are lovely
and skillful, but are not yet the work
for which you will be remembered
by family and non-family alike.
This is so rich, and darkly funny.
ReplyDeleteI saw an exhibit that featured the landscapes that made up the backdrop of the Icelandic medieval narratives, or "Sagas", collectively called Íslendingasögur. There were watercolors from the 1890s and corresponding photographs taken around 2009/10. Your (lovely) poem brought them to mind: http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/events_exhibitions_current.html
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kathleen.
ReplyDeleteHailey (it is you, right? :) ), those are wonderful!!! Inspiration for a poetry comic?? :)