Friday, October 21, 2016

Abstract with Red Splotch and Little Green Seeds


More street art, where the red splotch
took on a batch of tiny seeds,
reminded me of the work of abstract-
expressionist artist Robert Motherwell.
Maybe its appropriate, because
I was just leaving the Herron School of Art
when I saw this tiny bit of color
on the granite steps to the building.

Beside the Sea, no. 45. 1967
Acrylic and ink on paper

Monday, October 17, 2016

Gone Swimmin'


I got up early Saturday morning to be able 
to get to a swim meet on time. Afraid I'd sleep through 
the electronic beep of my radio alarm, 
I hadn't slept much the night before, so I was up
at 5 a.m., showered, had breakfast, made certain
my backpack had all the stuff I needed,
then left to catch the 5:45 bus.
A few minutes later, the bus rolled up, a giant
black box on wheels that held its light inside,
a lantern I could sit inside as the beacon
made its way downtown.


After transferring to a second bus
I arrived at an intersection where I walked
a few blocks east to the Ruth Lilly
Recreation Center found an outside entrance 
to the pool then sat down to watch the U of I
swim team's morning practice. 
On the way, I saw a lot of sculptures
dotting the campus grounds, some of them swooping
into space, others coming out of the ground,
as though born there.
The just emerging dawn lent a fresh feel
to the atmosphere and I felt as though I was
the first to see the world that day,
clean and new, unspoiled by greed and
current events.