Grafitti

All our Concord waters have two colors at least; one when viewed at a distance, and another, more proper, close at hand. - Thoreau

It started out as a blank canvas.

Innocent and ethereal.

Whitewashed and willing.

Primed in the womb of the watchtower.

A future wailing wall.

Sanctified and symmetrical.

Innocent and unstained.

Abstract and agnostic.

A prayer in pigment.

A holy street-temple.

Anointed and affixed with acrylic.

An unfinished work in the making.

Hanging in the balance.

Yet to be determined.

Screaming out for recognition.

Longing for rightful dominion.

A reminiscence of the first rodeo, roped in righteousness.

Shrouded by a curtain of religious expression.

Awaiting unveiling.

Desire trumps divinity.

A flagrant forked-tongue, forged in the foundry of fame.

Drooling like cool, morning dew on a window pane as the sun comes up.

Etched in eternity.

Scribbled and scrawled with sarcastic sins.

Bold and brazen brushstrokes spread with crooked, carnal colors.

Stained with the blood of survival and the will to stand out.

Juxtaposed and juvenescent.

Running.

Nowhere in particular.

Just running.

Like a thief in the night with a sadistic spray-can. 

A shrewd shrine marked with meaning.

A miraculous melodrama hanging in the manse of the Mafia.

A Machiavellian masterpiece in the museum of mankind.

Signed by a Renaissance master.

Laminated with latex and love.

Leaving its mark upon the world forever.

The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in the court of carnivores.

Covering my graphic soul with  ...

... grafitti ...

Author's Note

"The great art of life is how to turn the surplus life of the soul into life for the body." - Thoreau

Reviews

[Poetic Beauty]

Life is a balance of light and dark with many shades that are swirling in the mix as twilight and dawn begin.

There are things that can tarnish our spirits and mark our minds but on the flip side there are things that can polish our spirits and brighten our lives.


The way you write this with the fine details and using words like ethereal bring a depth to this poem and allows the reader to picture these thoughts on this poem.

[Alexa Apothic Red]

Whoa!!! What an explosive write!! This is absolutely phenomenal.. I was going to start to copy and paste all my favorite lines and then I realized that it'd be like that annoying person in your class or workgroup who literally highlights the whole stinkin thing!! Ha.. I don't really even know where to begin because this metaphor is so masterfully illustrated and full of the most brilliant driving tempo and executed with vocabulary that leaves me breathless and impressed... ahhhh I think I am so humbled by your talent and in awe of what you've done here to articulate my specific thoughts on the content.. I will have to come back and read this again with a little more study and focus.. amazingly done!!!!

[Pete]

thanks alexa. laughing about that annoying person in class. appreciate you sharing thoughts! :)

[Alexa Apothic Red]

Ha ha, glad you could find some humor in that.. I was selected as part of an elite leadership/mentorship program where I work a year or so ago, and one of my peers was highlighting her notes really noisily dragging her highlighter painfully across her page. She sat next to me. I'd glance over at her while I heard each mind-numbing stroke and observed that every line was highlighted... I'm like, come on! You could at least spare a few non-pertinent words!! Ha ha

[Pete]

Lol at the squeaky, scratchy sound of a highlighter being dragged across a page. i remember those people well when i was in college. i would be like, "what the hell are you doing, highlighting the whole darned book?". they were always buying highlighters and probably high from sniffing them all the time ...

[Alexa Apothic Red]

Bahahahaha so true!!!! This lady at my office suffered from the same affliction, I fear, and my ears as a result, so suffered too :(

[Einstein Noodle]

reminds me of this:
https://youtu.be/vBecM3CQVD8
your poem takes me on the journey ...birth, living and corruption ..very interesting and jumps at me in these lines:
"Innocent and unstained.
Agnostic and abstract." ...yet i am also reminded of the Bible verse:
" .[W]hat may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made so that men are without excuse" (Rom. 1:19-20)
i think you have done a bang up job of pointing out very key issues that inhibit our relationship with a Living God (my belief) i love the way you say it ... i love the chronology of events and the metaphor of graffiti ... and that great deceiver implicated throughout ... smooth read for me .. revealing and insightful human observations ...incredible painting and thank you for exposing me to some new music ..never heard of Gotye ... pretty cool stuff .. .i could go on and on about this poem ..but i will just say it is a keeper says i ..thoughtful and real ..and i appreciate the use of the language
E.

[Pete]

thank you E. i very much like and appreciate your thoughts on this. your comments remind me that:

"The unconsciousness of man is the consciousness of God."

"It's only by forgetting yourself that you draw near to God."

and

"If Nature is our mother, then God is our father."

all written by Thoreau

the grammy-winning gotye song & video was groundbreaking and so artistic and creative and seemed to fit perfectly. i could go on and on too. thank you and blessings ... :)

[Einstein Noodle]

those quotes have put me on a fine path straight off this morning ...thanks for sharing them

[Pete]

amen. :)

[Josie E. Cook M. A.]

"Bold and brazen brushstrokes spread with crooked, carnal colors."--love this line and the song!
"A shrewd shrine marked with meaning.
A Machiavellian masterpiece in the museum of mankind.
Signed by a Renaissance master.
Laminated with latex and love.
Covering my graphic soul with ...
... graffiti ..."--this says it all about the type of art it is and how it is brought about to us.
A layered and complex creation as in the work and the artist and it always about facing that blank area and making it yours as an artist.

[Pete]

yup!!!!! thanks for sharing thoughts josie. appreciated ... :)

[Josie E. Cook M. A.]

You are welcome!

[Ruth]

This is a well painted canvas :) The emotions drip through and over but more than that there is a starkness as well as a brimming scheme of colours to this piece...such innocence I ask myself...how does it get so stained and tainted over time...mindset or human nature? Hmmm...as always Pete, your words stir me :)

[Pete]

thank you dearest Poppy. you pose a formidable question that we all grapple with every day. blessings ... :)

[Alfred Kukitz]

tunneling into your mind, tunneling further and further until the gold begs to be eaten. i am nourished!

regards,
al

[Pete]

the paul simon song on his graceland album says that i can call you al. so thank you al! your deep thoughts on the matter are appreciated ...

[Kelly Scheppers]

Pete, you blew me away! My goodness, this IS a masterpiece in every essence of the word. Bravo, my patriot friend!

[Pete]

thanks Kelly. still trying to paint away my blues after pats superbowl loss! your kindness is appreciated. blessings ...

[barleygirl]

Whoa! Who woulda thought that graffiti could be the genesis for such a complex & multi-layered poem!?!?! I'm stunned at your word-crafting with alliteration & tons of sound-play, which stands out even more than your construction of meaning. I like the way your phrases sound a little staccato & scattered, not so much flowing & connected, reminding me of paint spilled here & there, inadvertently blending together. I especially love the way the first half describes the blank canvas while the second half describes the graffiti. Many poets start off with their intended message, instead of crafting careful consideration of the "pre-quell" (what happens BEFORE the main event). I love the way you set up the blank canvas before splashing it with meaning (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Pete]

muchas gracias barleygirl. you just colored my day with your spot-on observations. appreciated. blessings ... :)

[Lavi]

I loved this. Makes me remember the good old days when I would graffiti the streets to give them more life. I think graffiti is beautiful (most times anyway) kind of like an illegal expression of one's passion to love. Just as this was beautiful and a powerful write. The flow was also smooth and well-layered. Good work.

[Pete]

thank you Lavi. i appreciate you sharing how the piece stirred memories for you and the feelings it brought. it is appreciated ... :)

[fireangelpoet]

Wow, beautifully done, the sequence is just right, the form is incredible... May I say Bravo!

[Pete]

thank you so much for your encouraging comments fireangelpoet. peeked quickly at your profile - hope you are not too tired from Mardi Gras!

[fireangelpoet]

Haha, no I don't do the Mardi gras, I have a phobia of big crowds. And you're welcome!

[Cole Thomas]

Amazing piece, and the perfect song to go along with it. Loved your word choice.

[Pete]

thanks MainStream. appreciate your thoughts!