Under the Sea in Black and White

Black ink Zentangle Inspired Work

Mincing Words...

A poet friend of mine, Frank James Davis, (should you care to have a read of his writing too)  who I met through reading his writing on Hello Poetry had an interesting reaction to the following poem which I had written in response to a challenge to incorporate given words.  The poem is as follows:

Final Rest

 

Here lies my body
my life-long shell.
Worked through the grind
and finally fell.

Lying postmortem
on this cold table.
The reaper calls,
"Come, you are able."

An undertaker prepares
to hammer the stones
Of my final resting place
sepulcher for my bones.

Resting in pieces
all through the years.
Time washes away
lost memories' tears.

4/24 New Words: grind, hammer, undertaker, postmortem, sepulcher

 

 He had the following reaction to this poem:

 

Frank: This poem really bummed me out, Judy. What's the sense of doing anything?--in eternity's scheme, we're already just a bunch of forgotten bones.
Let me give you a few new words to work with: don't, ever, write, anything, so, damned, depressing, again.   (Technically, a great poem.)

 

Well I couldn't just let it go at that.  So I wrote another poem using his given words.  And it goes as follows:

In the Name of Cheerfulness

 

So, let's see, cheeriness personified.
Damned if I can think of anything depressing.
Again and again, my mind goes on ever and ever,
In search of that infernal lightening rod
To which the dark and dreary are attracted.
And yet, butterflies and billowing clouds,
erupt magnificently in full bloom.
Hiding in the nooks of my cranium,
fluffy bunnies and poofy flowers.
Anything really, to while away the hours.
And so I write about grand battles,
frogs on crack, and ladies in your lap.
Seems this perky cheeriness is infectious....

A wink and a nod to my friend Frank. ;)

© 2011 Judy Ponceby

 

 Apparently this response to his reaction was very unexpected, and I really enjoyed his comments on this poem a great deal. :)

 

Frank: Wow! I'm not only genuinely flattered, I'm truly amazed! You somehow turned my nonsense into something wonderful.  If I could choose how people thought of me, I would be sincerely honored if it were exactly what you put in this poem. Thank you, Judy. I couldn't be more pleased.

 

And then later on in another comment to the same poem:

 

Frank: Just thought I'd re-review this poem because I'm a narcissistic son-of-bitch and I really love it. Who needs Shakespeare?--that circumlocutious old windbag; this is poetry! 

 

To say the least I truly enjoyed his reactions. 

 

 

Sun, Set, 'N' Sea

 

 

 

Sun, Set, 'N' Sea

Colored Pencil and Ink.  A slight variation I did on a work I admired.

A Memory that Inspired

step in faith

A Poem by Judy Ponceby

over

hand hand

step       by step

crossing this wretched foot bridge

large          g ap  s                   loom

don't look down

down

down 

towards the scrabbling masses 

reaching  up 

up 

  up

to 

tear you from your perch

head up

hands on the rope

your feet walking in faith.

only then,

 will you reach 

your 

heart's 

desire.

© 2011 Judy Ponceby

Author's Note

When I was four or five, I watched my father walk across a rickety old foot bridge with missing slats across a huge ravine. This memory has been replaying itself in my head quite a lot of late and this is what came of it in my writing.

Sad memories...

Shades of the Heart

 

 

To believe, to leave
In need of reprieve.
This worn, torn heart
beats slow, so slow.
Long past the point
that it could care.
Cared to share
with one once loved.
And now I don't
deceive. I must feel,
and I must grieve
The loss of cherished
memories past.
And feel the aching
as it's breaking
Once more forlorn
the weight's been borne
And slips the harness
to stop the transgress
For peace, for comfort
To heal, to feel....

A Bit of Zentangly Watercolor Penciling

Verdigogh Zentangle with Embellishment

This was done with Black Sharpie Ink and Derwent Watercolor Pencil with the "Help" of my cat Dodie.  She is a Calico and appears to find herself quite artistic, what with chewing on the paintbrush tip, walking on the drawing and attempting to drink the water for the paint pencils. 

Grieving

Grief

Raw feelings of heartache spill from my eyes.

Keening cries fall from parted lips.

Body-wracking tremors of sorrow grip me.

Unable to move.
Unable to embrace.
Frozen in time.
Frozen in place.

Sifting my memories for sights, sounds and scents.
Of one cherished, one held so dear.

And, finding these shreds, these threads of memory,
able to fashion a ragged bandage for a shattered heart.

Fluid poetry

Awash

 

 

Be thee privy
to the cascading
whispers of the
tides continuous?

To the tranquil
bubbling and splashing
of light, translucent
fluid?

Saturated in the
unpredictable motion
of the flowing
river of a mind
wandering.

A Past Poetic Challenge

Visions in the Desert

 

 

Cruisin' across the Sahara in my 1952 Cadillac,
I was singing along to a song, thinking about Jack Kerouac.

Coming over the next rise, I never expected to see,
Such a conflagration of Walruses looking back at me.

Passing a lone daisy under the sun set on broil,
They were making their way across the big sandy soil.

Thoughts evolving and revolving inside of my brain,
Led me to believe I might be under a bit of a strain.

Searching for my bottle of purified mineral water,
I quenched my thirst and prayed for no less than an hour.

That these visions of sea mammals would quickly pass.
And leave me to sing songs in my old Cadillac.

*************************************************************************


This was a challenge for the group Charminly Fun on Hello Poetry
Jan 23, 2011 to use the provided words in a poem.  These were the provided words:

Cadillac.  Daisy.  Evolve.  Walrus.  Mineral.  Conflagration.  Sahara.

Should anyone out there wish to give it a try I would love to see what you come up with and have it posted here in the comments :)

Blazing Green Sun

Done in Black Ink and Colored Penciled blended with a Paper Tortillion.

A little Seussish-Like Fun :)

Wishes

by Judy Ponceby

If wishes were fishes
I'd have a whole bunch
Swimming in fishbowls
Awaiting their lunch.

If wishes were french fries
I'd have a caboodle
Frying in the skillet
To feed to my poodle.

If wishes were colors
I'd have a rainbow
Coloring the world
In hues, magenta and mango.

If wishes were flowers
I'd have a garden full
Showing their pretty faces
And smelling of taffy pull.

If wishes were mine
I'd hand out a dozen
To every girl and boy,
To each uncle and cousin.

Jan 4, 2011

Newport Aquarium, Newport, KY

Newport Aquarium is officially one of the most awesome places I have been.  It was just amazing the huge Aquarium that you walked through tunnels underneath.  Watching sharks, rays, groupers.  A huge variety of species in beautiful tanks.  Petting the sharks in the pool was really cool as well.  Pyjama sharks really do feel like wet flannel pajamas.  Penquins pop right out of the water to get up on to land.  And a baby horseshoe crab has to lift his shell to be able to follow your finger.  Just a lovely place to spend the day along the Ohio River.  My son truly loved every minute of it.  And if you have a 13 yr old, you know that's not an easy thing to accomplish. :)



This is a pic from their website.  An educator there told us this guys name was Dan.  :)  He looked very eerie coming at you from way back in the pool and all you could see was his teeth.  We sat in the small theater like area for quite some time watching the fish.  It was really mesmerizing. :) 

It was a Sunny day.......

My version of a sunny day done in Black Sharpie and colored pencil.  Love these colors.

Whitby, Yorkshire, UK

Moody Monastery (by simonGman)

Forgotten Monastery

 

Stark against steel gray sky
Steeples rise sharp
Grazing lowered clouds
of hazed vapor.

Hallowed halls echo
ancient steps treading
remembered paths.

Whispered breaths
of voices once raised
in praise and worship
play soft on gentle breezes
in the folds of time long gone.

© 2012 Judy Ponceby

 

 

 

This poem was inspired by the photo above.  At Hello Poetry, it was noted by a reader and poet Rob that, "You probably know but Whitby featured in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel "Dracula" - reckon the atmospheric abbey gave him literary inspiration - and its still doing it !! :)".  I found that to be a very interesting bit.  He also mentioned that he had been there.  How cool is that? :)