December 20, 2022
Girl Reading (n.d.), Vera Alabaster (1889-1964). Oil on canvas, 62.3 x 56 cm. Image courtesy of Harbour Cottage Gallery, Kirkcudbright, Scotland, UK.
I have always loved poetry. My mother encouraged a love of literature in my twin sister and me from an early age. When I read a poem, I often think of how it could be illustrated visually. One of the beauties of poetry is its openness to interpretation and multiple ways of being understood. The poems selected below are ones I find personally meaningful. The paintings that accompany each poem are by women artists, both present and past.
1. "Dreams" by Langston Hughes
Autumn Sentinel (n.d.), Michelle Waldel. Oil on canvas. Dimensions unavailable.Image courtesy of Michelle Waldele Studio.
I remember my mother reading this poem by Langston Hughes (1901-1967) to us when we were children. Hughes, a poet, social activist, novelist, playwright and columnist, was one of the leaders of the Harlem Renaissance (1920-1939). We had a poster with “Dreams” printed on it and illustrated by a crow in a winter field. The contemporary crow painting here by Michelle Waldele is in homage to that poster and the poem of course.
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
“Dreams” courtesy of the Poetry Foundation
2. "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou
A Little Taste Outside of Love, 2007, Mickalene Thomas. Acrylic, enamel, and rhinestones on panel, 108 x 144 in. Image courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum, New York.
Another poet I love is the late, great Maya Angelou (1928-2014), a poet, memoirist, playwright, and civil rights icon whom I had the privilege of seeing speak live at the Detroit Opera House in Detroit, Michigan, when I was in high school. “Still I Rise” is one of Angelou’s most well known poems.
Still I Rise
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
“Still I Rise” courtesy of the Poetry Foundation.
3. "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson
Melancholy, 1801,Constance Marie Charpentier (1767-1849). Oil on canvas, 51.1 x 64.9 in. Image courtesy of Musée de Picardie, Amiens, France.
While Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) wrote many wonderful poems, “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” has always resonated with me on a personal level. Growing up, I was painfully shy and quiet in school. I was socially awkward and felt like I never fit in. I only had one or two close friends who saw beyond the introverted demeanor. The admission of being a loner and finding a kindred spirit is what I love about this poem.
I'm Nobody! Who are you?
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know!
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!
“I’m Nobody! Who are you?” courtesy of Poets.org.
4. "Sanctum" by Beulah B. Malkin
A Still Life of Lilies, Roses, Iris, Pansies, Columbine, Love-in-a-Mist, Larkspur and Other Flowers in a Glass Vase on a Table Top, flanked by a Rose and a Carnation,1610, Clara Peeters. Oil on wood panel, 19.5 x 13 ¼ x 2 in. Image courtesy of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC.
I have a sentimental side that likes love songs and country music even when they are corny. Poems about love and loss are no exception. “Sanctum” by Beulah B. Malkin (1903-1990) has elements of both melancholy and beauty. I think anyone who has ever loved another person can relate.
Sanctum
I built a tiny garden
In a corner of my heart.
I kept it just for lovely things
And bade all else depart.
And ever was there music,
And flowers blossomed fair;
Yet never was it perfect
Until you entered there.
“Sanctum” courtesy of Poetry Explorer.
5. "Put Something In" by Shel Silverstein
Dance for Yourself, 2020, Geeta Yerra. Acrylic on canvas, 18.1 x 23.6 x 0.1 in. Image courtesy of Saatchi Art.
Another beloved poet from my youth is Shel Silverstein (1930-1999) who is well-known
for his children’s poems. We had copies of two of his poetry collections for children, Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974) and A Light in the Attic (1981) on my bookshelf in my childhood home. “Put Something In” is taken from A Light in the Attic. It is a poem that makes me smile with its playfulness and positive message.
Put Something In
Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
‘Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain’t been there before.
“Put Something In” courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers.
I hope you enjoyed this walk down “memory lane.” Wishing everyone happy holidays and a joyful new year!