Until the Hummingbird


"The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever
 passes through my head without any other consideration." ~ Frida Kahlo

What does it matter if books
are neatly stacked or if pens
are corralled in a cup?

I am wings in disorder,
a sky spilled dream building a nest
where words can hatch.

Things I pluck from here and there
fall from my fingertips into little shrines
mimicking my mind’s helter skelter.

If you see my everything and find nothing,
it’s not my worry…I’m perfectly content
to wander my confusion until the hummingbird speaks.

©Susie Clevenger 2018


Comments

Vivian Zems said…
...a sky spilled dream building a nest where words can hatch......I love the imagery. I can imagine Frida painting this. I also like how you reflected her contentment with her art.
Gillena Cox said…
luv your disordered wings image

much love...
Fireblossom said…
And more power to ya, woman. They say that a creative mind is rarely a neat one. I'm weird in that I'm not neat except for my work space--both when I was a postie and with my writing. My desks (I have two) are islands of neatness in a sea of casual disorder.

Your poetry is certainly always orderly and amazing. I'll always be a big fan.

ps--I just last night watched a sow about birds, including hummingbirds! They are amazing.
Sanaa Rizvi said…
"I am wings in disorder, a sky spilled dream building a nest where words can hatch." This is so powerful!

Sherry Blue Sky said…
"Until the hummingbird speaks"......wow! I love it!
Kim M. Russell said…
What a fabulous metaphor, Susie: 'pens / are corralled in a cup'! You've captured Frida's limitations and her defiance in this poem, as well as your own, perhaps:
'I am wings in disorder,
a sky spilled dream building a nest
where words can hatch'.
And I love the final stanza.
tonispencer said…
The last stanza is incredible. The last line is devastating.
Anonymous said…
This truly speaks to that creative voice that must be given a place in which to play. W
Old Egg said…
There is just so much to like in your poem in tribute to Frida, I really loved it.
Anonymous said…
I am wings in disorder,
a sky spilled dream building a nest

oh wow - now talk about such an amazing second opening, which is unexpected after the beginning, so seemingly smooth a notation, as we begin to read this poem .... and then, well, doesn't this all just come together - and I think you've really tuned in and captured something not many initially capture about Kahlo - the creation, the gathering of shrines, constructing altars/alters ....

this is such a rich piece Susie - it's truly wonderful ... layered for the simplicity on the face of it all - but coded as so much of what we can't explain about ourselves, or processes, which is perhaps, as it's meant to be ...
jo said…

Wow, this is so powerful!
Jim said…
Thanks, Susie. This is a nice poem, "Wait" was the big word with me. Congratulations on your new book, it looks and sounds great.
I read up on Frida in Wikipedia. She had a tough life but really crammed what there was for her, only 47 years, into sooo much. The place she held exhibitions impressed me, a mere tourist.
I may write this weekend though it still is 'busy time' for me. I would have love to write for your prompt, just wasn't time. We have our eight-year-old (KP) with us for a bit and a house still for sale that needed working on. Are you ready to move north, it is in Bentwater on a golf course lot? It was supposed to be our retirement but here we are close to daughter and family in Fulshear/Katy.
..
Wonderfully imaginative, yet so much truth in it.
brudberg said…
The metaphor on the pens and wings in disorder.. so perfect for the prompt. So perfect for the self... love it.
Asobime said…
This is lovely, Susie. So evocative and full of color.

Lady Nyo
revelations said…
I really enjoyed this... I could relate to the theme
Kerry O'Connor said…
I think hummingbird poetry is the best kind there is!
Carrie Van Horn said…
"A sky spilled dream building a nest"...I just love that line. A beautiful and fitting tribute to Frida!!
Jinksy said…
Out of chaos comes order...