By Dennis Maloney

You will be surprised to find
I am writing rather than dropping by
just before dusk as I often do.
But I don’t have the courage to 
face you as you read this.
I hesitated to write as I don’t
want to expose our long 
friendship to danger.

A few days ago I observed
under your microscope
a drop of water 
I thought pure,
like a piece of glass
but in reality strange 
creatures swirled about
in a transparent hell. 

Don’t artists record appearances,
the life in shadows and the
deceptive surfaces of the world?
We are craftsmen, who work
in the matter of illusion,
while you are a master of  truth.

I fear the dangerous journey you are on.
It seems the more the tools of observation are perfected
the more distant and elusive become the goals.
With each new discovery we are more lonely 
in the mysterious void of space.

I know that you want to lead us
out of the labyrinth of superstition,
give us a certain clear knowledge,
a defense against fear and anxiety. 

You  correctly observe 
that art doesn’t solve any 
of nature’s enigmas but our
task is not to solve enigmas 
but rather to be aware of them,
bow our heads before them
and prepare our eyes for
the never ending wonder.

I will tell you I have proudly 
succeeded in combining
a certain intense cobalt with
a luminous lemon yellow,
as well as capturing  the 
reflection of  southern light
that strikes through thick glass
onto a gray wall. 

Our tools, primitive,
a stick with bristles stuck
on the end, a rectangle of canvas,
pigments and oils, that like
the human body and nature
have not changed for centuries.

If I understand my task 
it is to reconcile man 
with surrounding reality.
This is why I repeat
an infinite number of times
sky and clouds, portraits
of women and cities, 
because only there do 
we feel safe and happy.

Our paths diverge, knowing
I will not convince you
to abandon your polishing
of lenses, but allow us
as well to continue 
our archaic procedures
creating these worlds
of color and light.

The Importance of Arts, Culture & The Creative Process

Poetry is essential to our culture and humanity particularly in these most trying times. This poem is part of a manuscript in progress centered on the Dutch painter Vermeer. This particular poem focuses on the creative process v the scientific process.I presently live on the lake plain of Lake Erie with its four distinct seasons, presently the very long one of winter. I previously lived part of the year in Big Sur, California which a much more fragile environment subject to fires, landslide and other natural occurrences which made me much more aware of the natural world surrounding me.

Photo credit: Elaine LaMattina

Dennis Maloney is a poet and translator. A number of volumes of his own poetry have been published including: The Map Is Not the Territory, Just Enough, Listening to Tao Yuan Ming, The Things I Notice Now, The Faces of Guan Yin and Windows. A bilingual German/English volume, Empty Cup was published in Germany in 2017. His work has been translated into over a dozen languages including full length collections in German, Japanese and Bulgarian.