Saturday, October 31, 2009



When a Tree Dreams


it is of eggs—
robin’s, dove’s—
the gentle cradling,
the perfect fit
of bluestem straw,
alder sprig, mud,  
down, hair, in its wind-
strong cup of sky-
reaching branches. 

it is of pages—
pages, papers,
sheaves of books,
language unlocked
fiber by fiber, 
leaves unfolding,
stories told
in the turning,
swelling rings.

it is of pining—
desire, a delicate
grieving, a mournful
rustling, a restless
resignation and
the puzzlement— 
the twig-thin
tug between this world
and the next.
-DJ  Gaskin


Sunday was the opening for Poetic Art, an art exhibition at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA in which I had a piece that I did in collaboration with my favorite poet, DJ Gaskin.
The exhibition is a  benefit to raise money for The Yellow Ribbon Fund and to honor Scott Kirkpatrick, a soldier who was an award-winning poet and the son of Marti Kirkpatrick, the exhibitions director of the Workhouse.  It was a very touching event, as each of the poets read their poems and many by Scott were read.



My piece was a response to the poem When a Tree Dreams by my dear friend DJ Gaskin. It was such an honor to be invited and to have a chance to finally collaborate with DJ, whose poetry with its haunting and lyrical imagery really resonates with me. To read more of her work please click HERE








Exhibition: Poetic Art October 21 - November 20

Poetic Art: a benefit for the Yellow Ribbon Fund, a nonprofit organization created in early 2005 to assist our wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families, while they recuperate at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center. 

The exhibition will be held on the second floor of Gallery W-16 featuring both professional and amateur poets and artists working in collaboration to produce Poetic Art. The work of art will inspire the poet’s words, or the poem will inspire the artist’s creation.  The exhibition will open to the public October 21 - November 20, 2009.  An opening reception will be held on October 25th from  2:00-5:00pm, and  will feature a reading of some of the submitted poems. 

The exhibition will feature both invited and juried artists and poets, including Rita Dove Poet Laureate of the United States and Consultant to the Library of Congress from 1993 to 1995, Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2004 to 2006, and 1987 Pulitzer Prize winner in Poetry.  
Below is a list of the poet and artist teams represented in Poetic Art: 
Rita Dove & Laurel Hausler
BRASH & Pat Goslee
David Gewanter & Irene Tsai
Sarah Browning & Miriam Morsel Nathan
DJ Gaskin & Novie Trump
Saul Sosnowski & Lilianne Milgrom
Patricia Gray & Christine Lashley
Nancy Arbuthnot & Cathy Abramson
Jim McCord & Carol McCord
Jeremy Larochelle & Linda Larochelle
Margit Berman & Paul Bernhardt
Peter Montgomery & Frederick Nunley
Susan Scheid & E.A. Skeeter Scheid
Scott Lange Kirkpatrick & Ed and Marti Deppa Kirkpatrick


To learn more click HERE 



2 comments:

  1. Your exquisite piece and DJ's poem touch me. So very beautiful.

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  2. What a touching moving poem and your piece matches it perfectly-- I am going to copy this one for my poetry folder.

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