POEMS Gallery |
THE POND The Pond (cropped) |
THE BREAKING OF RAINBOWS The Breaking of Rainbows
by Howard Nemerov
"Oil is spilling down the little stream
Below the bridge. Heavy and slow as blood,
Or with an idiot’s driveling contempt:
The spectral film unfolding, spreading forth
Prismatically in a breaking of rainbows,
Reflective radiance, marble evanescence,
It shadows the secret moves the water makes,
Creeping upstream again, then prowling down,
Sometimes asleep in the dull corners, combed
As the deep grass is combed in the stream’s abandon,
And sometimes tearing open silently
Its seamless fabric in momentary shapes
Unlikened and nameless as the shapes of sky
That open with the drift of cloud, and close,
High in the lonely mountains, silently.
The curve and glitter of it as it goes
The maze of its pursuit, reflect the water
In agony under the alien, brilliant skin
It struggles to throw off and finally does
Throw off, on its frivolous purgatorial fall
Down to the sea and away, dancing and singing
Perpetual intercession for this filth—
Leaping and dancing and singing, forgiving everything."
The printed poem is the background of the painting. The aluminum shapes are painted underneath with fluorescent colors, and mirrors reflect the colors. |
Tom Brown Artist Page | Gallery Index (3 galleries) |