Inside the Circle: Third Day

I've included two poems in the cycle in today's post, because that puts the poem in sync with the actual days on which I am posting, today being Friday in my part of the globe. See post that begins cycle here.

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Thursday

I remember:

The arrows on the sign out front pointed to each other,

I wondered where        that meant        you were.

I wondered how           to find                 the Studio. 

Your art swept me in, became a fluid new home for my vision.

“Dive in,” the pictures said. “Float or go deep, it doesn’t matter,

there’s life / meaning / beauty at every depth.”

Outside, the pomegranates ripened on the tree

while I in rich-rewarded wonder roamed

through your high garden of art.

I remember: Paradise has an address.

To find it, go behind / beyond the arrows,

defy the visible daily instructions.

Take Kandinsky’s words with you: 

“There is no must in art, for art is free.”

*

Friday

Shabbat comes soon.  I must look for you while I can,

before the rest begins.

                                                There you are

in the classical face rising from the lake,

eyes meeting sky

                                                There you are

in the matriarch robed in red, holding a luminous

orb. I named her “Queen of Between the Worlds.” 

You smiled and said, “I’ll write that down.”

                                                There you are

in the matador whose face forever hides from

our view, his traje de luces flashing green and gold

                                                There you are

in the young horse running over pale blue sand

and into silver waves

                                                There you are

in the almost-Hindu goddess smiling, turning

to greet those who approach. She gestures to an

empty vessel–urn or vase?

                                                There you are

in the photo of the two of us together,

shoulder to shoulder at Passover.

When my life ends, when my soul passes over,

will I have the opportunity to say,

                                                There you are,

                                                my friend?

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Image 1: Untitled by Mil Lubroth
Image 2: Mientras andaba by Mil Lubroth
Text, copyright Ysabel de la Rosa, all rights reserved.