Our prompt for today is to use Donald Justice’s poem, “There is a gold light in certain old paintings,” which plays with both art and music, and uses an interesting and possibly self-invented form. His six-line stanzas use lines of twelve syllables, and while they don’t use rhyme, they repeat end words. Specifically, the second and fourth line of each stanza repeat an end-word or syllable; the fifth and sixth lines also repeat their end-word or syllable. Today, we challenge you to write a poem that uses Justice’s invented form.
I checked out the images from the Museu de Arte de São Paulo, and chose one each from the old masters and mysterious photographs collections.
Staying with Justice’s music/art theme I tried connecting a painting by Franz Erhlich and a capture by Brazilian photographer, German Lorca. Erlich studied at the Bauhaus art school before being sent to Buchenwald by the Nazis. The school also gave its name to the English goth rock band fronted by Peter Murphy (who often performed naked from the waste up and bore a strong resemblance to the photo subject) which produced the song Terror Couple Kill Colonel, references to which I have incorporated into the poem.
Please let me know if you think it worked.
A.
Looking in and out, reflective string instruments,
Sage, ruby and coal shades purse lips; minds form a face.
Musical art shapes birthed in a German art house,
What do we encounter when going face to face,
Knowing vile terror failed to kill this art kernel?
And the goth band played terror couple kill colonel.
B.
Looking out and holding on, a naked singer?
Light outlines his profile of a violin case,
Charcoal and sepia shadows drape on open lips,
Cold bars hold back the hot fleshed devil; just in case.
Are we looking with longing, or longing to look?
A microcosm of voyeurism or just good luck?
C.
Eyes and minds meet, flux and fuse in contemplation.
Artists craft deft conundrums across time and space,
Interpretations painted with the brush of gaze,
Framed messages captured then hung in revered space.
Read, form elucidations and analyses –
But remain uncertain of our analyses.
Missives & Musings 
I enjoyed the ending of part B.
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Thanks for taking the time to comment Maria.
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I like the juxtaposition of these two artworks in the poem. Also, the fact that you went deeper into Franz Erlich’s background and stumbled upon the goth band which made just the song to incorporate into the poem? What a serendipitous rabbit hole! I admire you for going down it.
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Hi, thanks for dropping by and leaving your response to my work – I really do appreciate that. I knew of Bauhaus the band and art school before, I’ve even seen the band life many years ago, but yes, serendipity did seem to play its part of me finding those two images.
Graham
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