Five Points, Vol. 16, No. 3
Spring 2015From Philip Levine: "I think one of the luckiest things that happened to me was not publishing a book in a sizable edition, one which anybody saw, until I was forty."
Sample Content
Susan Ludvigson
Divigations
I’ve decided to try interiors, painting them that is.
I’d like them to look like Bonnard–well, mostly Bonnard.
Today I found another I could model mine after.
It looked as if the painter, a famous one at that—
Kandinsky—had a tremor. I have a bit of a tremor,
So this should suit me fine. Especially on a canvas
I’ve painted over so many times, it’s like a rutted
Country road. It lends itself to wiggles and wiffles.
I’ve spent the afternoon playing with it,
And while I can’t say I’m satisfied, it feels like the right
Direction. The way, when the mind won’t concentrate
On the task at hand but wanders into the woods to pick
Something forbidden. Where I come from that’s
The white trillium, and the forbidden part made them
My favorite childhood flower, although I obeyed
My mother’s rule against gathering them—
I could go to jail, she said. Thinking about trilliums
I look them up and learn it’s true, they’re endangered,
So I’ll look for forbidden fruit instead. Meantime,
I’m waiting for the paint to dry, literally watching it,
Not bored, because I’m thinking of so many things
I can put on the list.