Concrete and Abstract
The Marble-Covered College-Ruled Composition Book of Prayer
I’m just minding my own business
boiling white rice for two days of low residue low fiber eating
in prep for a colonoscopy on Wednesday
when the the marble-covered college-ruled composition book of prayer
hands me a sharpened No. 2 pencil
and says, Go ahead.
So I open the black-and-white cardboard cover,
with its water-stain in the upper right hand corner
and black-tape binding roughed up and
slightly pulled away at the bottom,
to begin flipping through the pages.
And oh my gosh, the pages! So soft with having
been handled repeatedly. You know that softness of paper?
The college-ruled lines are straight, sharp, and precise,
but that paper?—so silky, so smooth, so soothing.
On the first page, the earliest prayer I remember,
a knees-on-the-floor elbows-on-my-bed
hands-in-prayer-position repeat-after-daddy prayer,
my voice in chorus with my sisters,
Father in Heaven, hear our earnest plea.
I ask Daddy who Ernest is.
Farther along in the book, a prayer from my 5th-grade self,
uncertain of what I can ask of God,
certain there is a right way, certain there are wrong ways,
afraid of getting it wrong.
Please let me be happy no matter if
Mommy’s baby is a boy or a girl. Amen.
I locate a fresh blank page,
hold my pencil at the ready
with the tips of my thumb and first two fingers
in a perfect dynamic tripod grip.
Then
I place the pencil back on the table,
bring my hands together at heart center,
sit motionless,
to settle,
settle,
settle,
to listen
with the ears of my inner holy.
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3 x 3″; watercolor on paper
card #7 to Caroline at camp
2025
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Notes about poem and art:
• “Marble-Covered” was another response to a prompt provided as part of the online Coursera poetry course I took in late June:
Title as Poem Catalyst: Think up a poem title structured as such: The [Concrete Noun] of [Abstract Noun]. So, like: “The Cheese of Time” or like “The Monkey of Holiness” or maybe “The Steak Knife of Despair.” Then, write a poem based on that title. I created a list of random concrete nouns and a list of random abstract nouns and randomly paired two to see what would evolve.
• Wonder, featuring a Black Sea Gladiolus, had me in its thrall. I have to say again: these watercolor studies are so much fun as I play with the challenges of watercolor paints themselves and of mixing them to match colors in nature, not to mention the challenges of the photography involved and my wish to get the camera to replicate what my eye sees. It’s an altogether addictive undertaking!
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12 responses to “Concrete and Abstract”
Sheila! Thank you! Your words of affirmation and feedback make for such an upbeat shoulders-relaxed way to start my week : )
I appreciate your reflecting back to me that my imagery is vivid, and my heart is warmed to have you join me for a bit of my journey.
Isn’t that gladiolus magnificent??! I agree, so regal, and thanks for adding that you see its serving the themes of faith and prayer, awe and reverence.
I also appreciate, from you as a watercolorist whose wonderful work and experimentation I’ve enjoyed for years, your seeing the depth in my painting—I think I’m making strides as I expand my watercolor experience with this series.
xo
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Carol, that course prompted several poems that I might never otherwise have thought to write. Thanks for pointing out how its structure is bookended with present moments and holds childhood memories in between.
Thanks for sharing my love of these color studies. What might appear at first glance to be a very simple straightforward repeat exercise is deeply engaging for me. The color matching presents a compelling puzzle to resolve. And that gladiolus gave me such regal colors to play with : )
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MaryAnn, OMG I just love knowing that several of Margie’s prayer journals are in various colors of marble-covered composition notebooks! There’s a wonderful “little corner” in my day already!
Thank you for your delight in my responses to the poetry challenges that I invited into my life this summer. So many surprises and explorations.
The part of sending these color studies to Caroline that “entertains” me is that what she receives in the mail is just the 3 x 3″ cards—with no indicator nor photo of each card’s garden reference; yet we are both lifted up by the cards-to-camp experience : )
I LOVED mixing the colors for this one, gotta say.
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You seem to have found your voice through the proddings of the poetry class, Dotty. Lucky you for the gift of that, right? And lucky us, too, that you share it with us.
Your sweet composition book became embodied, handing you a pencil the way it did. Your words evoked memories for me of my parents praying with us every night, and going to church as a young family, where unfailingly my Dad would doze a bit. Couldn’t blame him. He worked 2 jobs to keep our family afloat.♥️
And, that deep and rich colored gladiolus! Oh my….your colors were beautiful.
Roseanne, thank you thank you!
• For your kind words about my adventures with poetry—SUCH a gift to me to have expanded my creative practice in this way, and I’m grateful to have it graciously received (one of RWT’s writing rules for herself is: share).
• For your reflection of my sweet composition book’s becoming embodied and your reminiscences of your parents’ praying with you each night and your going to church as a young family.
• For your taking joy in response to that gladiolus along with me!
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