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First Round Poem
I'm not sure I'm doing this correctly, but here goes. I wrote this poem after a trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum. Don't know whether to include an image of the painting.
After "Ocean Park #68" by Richard Diebenkorn (1974)
Lights hum and rise
Doors unlock and open
A high-heeled boot pokes in
Slaps on the shiny floor
Pairs of whispering ladies
In richly-colored finery
Lean in close
Gloved hands on cloaked forearms
Solitary dark-suited stick men
Stand back, stride forward
Bend to examine details
Hands clasp behind their backs
Children on a field trip scatter
Dart, skip, lunge, side-step
A boy yanks another’s elbow
He protests, But I like this one
A woman hobbles to a smooth bench
Plops down, inhales, sighs
She straightens and grimaces
Shifts and settles
Eyes dance on the walls
She swivels
Her wandering gaze slows
And flows over me
Down my choppy edge of
Coal-dark slate, smoky silver-gray
Morning glory, cornflower
Tiffany blue, verdigris
Across my bottom edge
Ultramarine, robin egg blue
Hummingbird, luna moth
Sea green, turquoise
Up my warm edge
Chestnut, terra cotta
Cinnamon stick, wildflower honey
Saffron, curry
Along my top edge
Creamy white, rosy tan
Granite, sand, magnolia
Flesh of grapefruit and salmon
The woman rises, flooding forward
Slides right, glides left, stops
Wrinkles her nose
Peers at a ruddy paint stroke
Her eyes sail over thin lines
East, south, west, north
Stopping where diagonals meet
Scanning angles and vertices
Her eyes open wider
Their lights hum and rise
Her eyebrows arch
Her lips purse
Sailing closer, nearly touching me
Squinting, her eyes focus
Her hand rises, her finger waves
Pointing to the ruddy spot
Ebbing slowly, just a step or two
Ocean of green and blue
Golden sun, yellow lights
Sandy shore, distant dark hills
Surfing in close again
Face glowing, peaceful and calm
She warbles softly
I see you, little red beach house
Museum label now in view
“Ocean Park #68”
Richard Diebenkorn
1974
