Dotty Wassily Kandinsky #5: Ditty
Oh Where Oh Where
right out of the gate
first thing this morning,
frazzled
frustrated
dispirited
why can’t i figure out this app
it worked fine for five days straight
and now nothing
what am i doing wrong
why don’t i know this stuff
and all the while
also a heaviness in my chest
and wordless mental malaise
running in the background
world events wearing away at me
but then
late in the day
can’t locate my teal zip sweatshirt
mutter to myself
—where the heck did i put it?
and the tiniest of shifts
lifts my heart
to say next
—oh where oh where can it be?
heart lifts another notch
lips hint at grin
i begin singing
sotto voce
—oh where oh where
—has my zip hoodie gone
—oh where oh where can it be?
heart grin and voice burst wide open
—with its pockets cut short
—and its sleeves cut long
—oh where oh where can it be!
in surges
a rush of simple joy
at being alive
right now
right here
singing this knockoff
of a childhood ditty
that taps a through-line
of well-being in my life
a gentle forgiveness
of my morning
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8 x 8″; watercolor, ink, metallic marker, watercolor pencil, and collage on paper
concentric circles and squares after Wassily Kandinsky
2025
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Notes About Poem and Painting:
• “Oh Where Oh Where” involved a potpourri of poking prodding playing pestering proposing pulling and puttering to land where it has landed, a different experience to catching a poem by the tail but equally enjoyable.
• My foci with “Sun Burning” were to experiment with more water and wet-on-wet with watercolors and to use a limited monochromatic palette. Fun! Once dry, the piece prompted me to respond to it with ink, pencil, marker, and collage. More fun!
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12 responses to “Dotty Wassily Kandinsky #5: Ditty”
It’s beautiful how you describe that sometimes, all of a sudden, in the middle of confusion and worry, wisdom and beauty can break through, seemingly out of nothing. Probably it has been there all along, only the worry and confusion were covering it up for a moment.
It seems our recent posts were aligned and I was singing right along with you in my head. I don’t know how many times I spilled something…or lost something…and had to just laugh out loud at the familiar situation. Next time I’ll break into song.
Kandinsky #5 evokes the fog at Wingaersheek perfectly. And the contrasting sunny watercolor collage and penwork is so interesting.
MaryAnn, fun to hear that you, too, “just laugh out loud at the familiar situation” of something spilled or lost, etc! Breaking out in spontaneous song was totally the ticket for me : )
Thanks for enjoying the sun’s breaking through the fog in Kandinsky #5. That sunny square of collage centered in the embellishments of the watercolor fog was something made years and years ago with my “Round of Art” friends using inks and some kind of (maybe mineral?) oil … I think … ?
Roseanne, your words are a poem in return! Thank you! I’m laughing at the ironic twist of your affirmation of this being my season, my being in my prime with words flowing and paint and color flowing—to answer your questions, I am OVERflowing with competing demands at the moment, gasping for air, and both sleep and eating are disrupted! I’ll elaborate with a text message! But thank you thank you thank you for being witness to this rich time of abundance for me.
LOL, Sheila! The upbeat ending of my poem and the joy of the sun’s burning through the fog at the beach seem to be contagious! And I’m smiling at the ditty YOU’re singing!
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