Monday, April 05, 2004

The Image, the Inspiration

The poem below is my response to a picture by Natalie d’Arbeloff. You may recall I mentioned a collaboration with an artist a few days ago (well, Friday). This is it, sort of.

Through the traditional baffles & chambers, I discovered Natalie's work at Blaugustine; which is a blog maintained by her alter-ego, Augustine. Might sound a bit off, but it's worth a visit. Trust me. It is, it really is.

If nothing else, you've got to read Augustine's Interview with God. Reading this feature convinced me I had discovered a kindred spirit. So, naturally, I suggested some form of "collaboration", and Natalie was willing to give it a try.

No need to go into all the gory details here, but this is how it's worked out: Natalie has been kind enough to let me view a bit of the art she has digitally drawn on the computer. These are images which have not yet been posted on her own site. I am writing poetic responses to them, then putting the whole thing into my "poetry postcard" format. My commitment is to ask Natalie's permission before letting the world see the final product.

Natalie isn't my editor (though I probably need one). Nor is she an artistic prima-donna. She simply has the right to decide how her images are used. It's a basic application of the Golden Rule, and I'm sure she would extend the same courtesy to me if she wanted to use one of my poems with one of her art-pieces.

So ... still with me? Here's the image that inspired the poem below (it has a reprint of the poem, along with your correspondent's birth name).

Let us know what you think of the finished product.

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