Random Acts of Art, #2
A Keepsake, For Pete’s Sake!
Uncle Oscar stores a collection of tchotchkes
behind the glass-fronted door of a cabinet at 40 School Street,
a wide cabinet made of polished cherry
inside of which sit at least twelve or thirteen small ceramic boxer dogs and
everything Aunt Frances saved from her actual pet boxer, Smudge,
including a piece of blue and white bakery-box string a camper once tied to its tail.
Over a cup of tea served beside
a crockery sugar bowl made in Camp Takodah’s Hobby Nook,
Uncle breaks into a bright smile
showcasing his white teeth, sets out
two lunches of sandwiches,
two bunches of grapes, and then—no!—
reaches to a shelf, procures a tiny boxer figurine, and gives
it to me to keep as I, desperate, ask myself, Can’t I find a way
to say, “Thank you so much, but I couldn’t! You shouldn’t!”?
Not today, evidently.
—dotty seiter
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~4 x 5.25″; acrylic, ink, watercolor pencil, and collage on paper
#3 in a series of Random Acts of Art abstract florals
2025
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Notes about poem and art:
• I wrote “Keepsake” in response to another prompt from the Coursera poetry class I took online in June—Rhyming Can Be Hard, Let Someone Else Do It For You. Find a poem that rhymes. Preferably a famous one. Take all of the end rhymes and use them in a poem of your own! I pulled the following rhyming pairs from Rachel Field’s “General Store” and used them one per line, though not as end rhymes: store, door, wide, inside, everything, string, tea, crockery, bright, white, lunches, bunches, shelf, myself, say, today. The prompt, which seems somewhat random and contrived, surprised me by somehow magically tapping a memory of mine that I can’t imagine I would ever otherwise have thought to put into verse. I had fun doing so and liked the way the prompt nudged me into telling my anecdote in a novel way.
• I completed and launched my first four Random Acts of Art in late September! So energizing and uplifting and just plain fun! Four paintings, from what were in process to become a series of eight, went out into the world on their way to, well, to who knows where?—A Gesture of Glad Receptivity; Each Voice a Way to Rejoice; Look How the Sunlight Dances; and You Wanna Be Payin’ Mind. I love the way the message that accompanies these paintings invites the finder to “keep it, re-hide it, or pass it on—whatever spreads a smile” (no unwanted miniature ceramic boxer dog keepsakes here!).
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16 responses to “Random Acts of Art, #2”
You are so inventive, and giving! I think I met this poem before but can’t recall where! Such a wonderful way to describe a moment/time spent with an old friend, and learn to accept a small token of that friendship.
Whoever recieves that work of art is a very fortunate person! It brings sunshine in anyone’s day!
Carol, you saw “Keepsake” way back in June when we both took the Coursera course; I may have edited since then but only a tiny bit! So, yes, you’ve met this poem before, and you’ve put forth its gist beautifully in your comment.
It’s fun to imagine who might have Look Now in their possession and where they may have it on display. I definitely had fun creating it and tucking it in front of a cake mix on a shelf at Crosby’s Market : )
MaryAnn, thank you!
• Joy on the loose is the name of the game—spread it far and wide! You are already generous in sharing your art, and now here’s a new way : )
• Deciding where to tuck my giveaways: BIG part of the fun!
• The new ‘contrivances’ I’ve learned about ways to construct a poem have surprised me with unexpected engagement in the creating and pleasure in the results.
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Dotty, I’m enjoying your Random Acts of Art so much. Don’tcha just wonder who’s picked them up and enjoying them now? We never know the ripple effect we make. Sending goodness out into the world seems to be needed now more than ever.
And how creative, taking a poem and using the end rhymes for your own new poem! Love that idea.
Happy to hear you’re enjoying my Random Acts of Art, Roseanne—seems like a long time ago that I started that venture at Amanda’s invitation and mentioned it to you. I DO wonder who has picked up my free art and is enjoying it now! Sending goodness out into the world right now is a big piece of what got me in gear to participate.
Thanks for your nod to the setup of my poem, an concept that worked for me.
Random Acts of Art are spirit-lifters for SURE, and Little Free Libraries make a perfect venue! Have fun!
THANK YOU for this very helpful and spirit-lifting feedback: “Your poetry sits so well right in the little spot between heart and brain, letting them converse easily and with full joy.” LOVE having you put words to what I experience internally but hadn’t articulated. AWESOME, Lola!
I agree, the prompt was so interesting—for me, it sparked a memory and led to a poem, to my surprise and delight! Much fun in that venture and much fun painting and then hiding giveaway paintings in plain sight! Fun to have you appreciate the spirit of these random acts of art, Sheila!
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