The Afterlife of Roses
© Nancy Laliberte
24" x 20" acrylic on canvas
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This painting is part of an invitational show, The Artist's Muse: Wisconsin Artists and Poets, exhibiting at the Center for the Visual Arts in downtown Wausau, WI. Artists and poets teamed up for what is an amazing show. The Afterlife of Roses was inspired by Louisa Overidge Gallas' poem by the same title (listed below). Stop by the CVA Friday evening from 5 - 7 pm for the opening gala, including readings by some of the authors.
The afterlife of roses
Have you ever fallen
naked together
in one easy glide
onto the faded yellow petals
of roses gathered to scatter
beneath you one late silky summer day
these petals of roses loosened from the bough
whose cool flesh still remembers
the ride high on long stems
in twilight rain
these roses you bless
with an afterlife
against your skin against skin
your embrace your heat merged
with their last flourish of faint yellow
journies of pollen,
froth of bees in your kisses
memories beyond memories, the rhythm
of wind through your open windows
these petals bruise sweetly beneath
your weight, beneath your bellies
in your murmuring sheets they spend
their last visions of fleet white moths
and final secrets, secrets they shared
with pastel sweet peas, scarlet peonies
secrets now tangling in your hair;
if only you could sing
to all those flowers, who were neighbors
of the yellow rose, who miss those old blossoms
if only you could sing to them
the song of your ecstasy
until the whole garden realizes fully
the future of blooms about to release
from the branch. . .that you will come come
to gather them up by the handfuls
just before they fall, just then
just when they feel certain
they’re completely
finished you
will
you will come
Louisa Loveridge Gallas
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Whoa! Day 30? Happily, I have been painting and/or sketching daily this month. That was my biggest goal - though my blogging portion doesn't show that. Rest assured, the sharing of creative joy will continue long past today! Keep following, and even more than that, if there is a longing in your heart for some creative joy, follow your heart, and start.
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