Neil Ellman- Three Poems

Homage to the Square: Ascending

(Joseph Albers, painting)

It is everything

the four means to ascendancy

providence framed in

yesterdays, todays, tomorrows

and beyond

earth, wind, fire and water

north, east, south and west

at every corner of the universe

its edges aligned to stars—

the square is the root

of everything known

all things rising from the sea

to bathe the day in yellow light.

The Last Judgment

(Wassily Kandinsky, painting)

When two dimensions meet

there is an awkward silence

as they circle around

each other’s other

space and time              

like brother and sister

at arm’s length

hesitant lovers afraid to touch

wary of the other’s secret intent    

each recognizing in the other

something of itself

too murderous to hear

the fate of its existence

in a war between themselves.

The Violence of the Machines

(Yves Tanguy, painting)

Clockwork angels

disemboweled from Hell

they have learned

from their makers

the meaning of deceit

how violence flows

from flesh

to metal and wire

and burns the inside

of the mind

how the world must end

how it ended

in paroxysms of pain

in the arms of the deity

a moment too late.

Neil Ellman, a poet from New Jersey, has published more that 1,000 poems, many of which are ekphrastic and written in response to works of modern and contemporary art.  He has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize, twice for Best of the Net, and for the Rhysling Award.