Sunday, May 13, 2012

Nuances

The Meal, 1891, by Paul Gauguin
Picture inspiration: The Mag 117

Amid internal darkness
obscurity presents
autumn colors

laid before the hungry
as elusive as shadows
haunting stability

like a knife in the hands
of a killer.

@laurie kolp

33 comments:

brenda w said...

Excellent response, Laurie. We both saw that knife's potential.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Ah...the knife does stand out doesn't it? Killer last line!

Laurel's Quill said...

Zowie...didn't see that coming!

Grace said...

That last line brought the chills ~ Nice one ~

izzy said...

Killer ? hmm- of plants and food- interesting! thanks.

Hannah said...

You really captured this well, Laurie, I can see what izzy is thinking and I'm thinking of the pesticides, how it will appear as we have food but really it is tainted by poisons and a cancer-causing killer.
Thanks for making me think!!

Kerry O'Connor said...

You have really captured the raw brutality of the colour in this work of art.

DCW said...

Beautiful and haunting simplicity. You can really capture the mood.

Anonymous said...

the knife is what shows direction and perspective in the art

quick heat quick art

Daydreamertoo said...

Come to the dark side....hehe
Nice capture Laurie!

Shawna said...

The knife and the perspective (elevated) from which the scene is captured draw attention to the person on the other side of the table, the one we cannot see.

I love your poem. Brief and loaded with varied interpretive potential.

The tiny details are the most important to a killer, someone hiding in shadows, a person suffering in darkness---the nuances become the whole of life; there IS no big picture anymore, only seconds, only fractions and fractures of time and mind.

"autumn colors" ... The feast before the famine; the harvest before the end of time/life/season.

Are the hungry the elusive, or is the "food" elusive, just beyond grasp?

I love "haunting stability." The darkness being endured, the hunger, the pain---the depression and possibly mental illness somehow enables this person to survive. This makes me think of Sleeping With the Enemy. The battle of the cans---lined up or knocked over to maintain sanity, depending on the keeper of the pantry.

This is all about control and the fine line walked between barely functional and completely insane.

Berowne said...

Imaginative, creative take on the prompt...

Brian Miller said...

whew you set quite the tension in just a few lines...that internal darkness will def cause you to do some things you might not otherwise...and that plays well against the knife at the end....well done laurie...

Maude Lynn said...

Love those last lines!

Kathe W. said...

yow- I never saw the knife coming-excellent!

kaykuala said...

With knives like that they sure looked intimidating. That's why the kids are glum? Nice twist to the prompt. Great write, Laurie!

Hank

21 Wits said...

I so enjoyed this plan for the knife, and not just to slice the fruits and vegetables! Spooky!

Madeleine Begun Kane said...

That's one haunting poem!

Trellissimo said...

Primitive emotion you uncovered here...

Kay said...

loved the tension you captured in this...x

Silent Otto said...

Yeah i think the adversary is definitely present here, Laurie .

Lyn said...

You really nailed this... they say if there's a knife in a scene..it's got to be used...clever!

Unknown said...

I enjoyed the subtle but shadowy places your poem describes. Then your last line, queues the killer!! Not a celebration of Mothers' Day after all. (hee hee). Thanks for this dramatic response, Laurie. =D

Carrie Van Horn said...

So much spoken in such few words....great writing Laurie!! :-)

Tumblewords: said...

Terrific view of this image! It bursts with surprise.

Helen said...

Really don't want to know who is standing on the other side of the table ... the knife handle is ready to grab! Great poem ...

Dave King said...

Beautifully done. I really enjoyed its double turn, both of which surprised me.

teri said...

Although my eye was drawn to all that bright colored fruit, that did not not hide the pensive faces and that knife. Your words hit the mark.

Stafford Ray said...

Yes, you did express the feeling I share with you that all is not as it appears; 'as elusive as shadows haunting stability'. The knife and the shadows all point towards the young people. Mmmmm.

Vince Gotera said...

Laurie ... wow. I like how words like "internal" and "obscurity" and "elusive" and "stability" lull the reader and then bam! Ha ha. Cool schtuff.

Tess Kincaid said...

Dark and delicious!

Unknown said...

The painting and your poem--what a combo! Powerful perspective.

Susan Anderson said...

Powerful and intelligent.

Loved it.

=)