Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ART CLASS, by JAMES GALVIN


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

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First Line: Let us begin with a simple line
Last Line: The horizon will not stop abstracting us
Subject(s): Art & Artists; Drawing; Poetry & Poets


Let us begin with a simple line,
Drawn as a child would draw it,
to indicate the horizon,

More real than the real horizon,
Which is less than line,
Which is visible abstraction, a ratio.

The line ravishes the page with implications
Of white earth, white sky!

The horizon moves as we move,
Making us feel central.
But the horizon is an empty shell --

Strange radius whose center is peripheral.
As the horizon draws us on, withdrawing,
The line draws us in,

Requiring further lines,
Engendering curves, verticals, diagonals,
Urging shades, shapes, figures...

What should we place, in all good faith,
On the horizon? A stone?
An empty chair? A submarine?

Take your time. Take it easy.
The horizon will not stop abstracting us.


Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA
98368-0271, www.cc.press.org




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