Poetry Takes to the Streets—-after Van Gogh’s Starry Night
the moon
a slice of yellow
radish fierce in the dark
rooftops
clenched fists holding
to breath
the stars
a web of terrible
need to arrange colors
in a night
more alive than
religion
4 thoughts on "Poetry Takes to the Streets—-after Van Gogh’s Starry Night"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Nice, nice, nice. Love “radish fierce in the dark” and “a night more alive than religion.” But the whole poem is tight and sharp.
Thank you for this generous response. For whatever strange reason, I keep thinking of the Van Gogh as having something to say about the role of poets and poetry in these days of so much violence in so many of its forms.
in a night more alive than religion. I like the use of the “knowledge” word, religion, as an emotion and image word. I would have been proud to have written this poem.
Yes–that radish image and those clenched fists. I’m always amazed at what a powerful poem you can create with so few words. It feels as if you’ve channeled Van Gogh with this one.