Sunday, November 10, 2013

The Beat Goes On - A Magpie Tale

Somewhere in 1895-1896, somewhere in there, Edgar Degas photographed a dancer in a double exposure. Known for his paintings, Degas also loved to work in photographic images, he said the black and white definitely fit his mood.

Years ago I found out I could not be a photographer even though I have some prints that are quite good. It would be too demanding of my time and resources. This was in the late seventies, and of course in those years, the cost of photography was monumental. I quickly learned that I would be taking tons of pictures, just like the news pros do, because that's the way it is. You take dozens to get a few. I knew at once that I was not interested in posed studio art or similar modes. I wanted the raw stuff to be great or nothing. After a few months and a significant dent in my finances I walked away. Now that digital work is possible, I still don't return out of the habit of producing art (and music) in other ways.

Here is Degas' photo:

"Dancer Adjusting Her Strap" (Danseuse Ajustant Sa Bretelle)
Offered by Tess as a writing prompt on The Mag: Mag 193

To vist the Magpie Tales writing group and enjoy the work the contributors produced this week *click here*

I hope you will decide to add your own work, following the directions Tess gives in the sidebar of The Mag site.

The Beat Goes On

In another place
I've comissioned a hostess
to oversee things
I got for Advent.
I know I should strip myself
but the dance goes on,
broken strap or no,
and this dancer's lost her core
to some art-fart sway,
some taste for the dark
you insist on showing me
as if you could make
me care at this point,
get me to agree with you
love is squeezed lemons.

November 10, 2013 3:46 PM

6 comments:

  1. And a bitter taste is left in the mouth...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm. I have long been fascinated by the differences of taste experience. Orange rind is bitter. Lemon rind too. I mean that's my experience. Lemon juice and pulp is sour. If I don't bite through the rind, the lemon experience is sour. I really like lemon sour cut with salt, one of my favorite tastes. The undercurrent of orange is also sour, and vinegar is sour too. In fact all acids are sour.

      There is no way to redeem bitter if it is strong. Bitter is poison. And yet certain bitters become steady habits. Coffee is bitter. All alkaloids seem to be bitter. Methedrine and cocaine are sharp cold bitter, a bitter that bites the tongue hard and knocks me flat. Barbiturates are brown warm bitter, reminding me of bile and worse.

      Delete
  2. Fascinating, fascinating. The poetry and your observation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Intriguing, which made me want to read it twice.
    So I did.

    =)

    ReplyDelete

The chicken crossed the road. That's poultry in motion.


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