Like a fly
in a spider web we are
caught in this world
so hold on to your fortunes
you are
a butterfly trapped in
a spiritual caccoon
a sleeping beauty
this seems to be quite true to me

Like a Fly, 24×30″, $400

Looking forward to
take some time off
Drive down to the coast
talk to some seagulls
Swim in the ocean for
three days straight

Talk to some Seagulls, 22×28″, $300

this red ball, it bounces
down the hill
ever down

we make castles
in the sandpile
out of sand

we turn circles
in the playground
we all fall down

ever down

simple games
we played

Simple Games we Played, 22×28″, $300

April showers
don’t come soon enough
You buy flowers
to make it seem like cheerful
bright sunshine in May-time
might arrive and
you won’t feel alone
[but you are not alone]

You are not Alone, 24×18″, $200

Story goes . . .
A comet came from outerspace
Crashed into the moon
Green cheese filled the air
And the whole world worried at
The growing mob of green mice
And opposing army of green cats
Green cats versus green mice
And the whole world worried
“Am I gonna die or
Will it be alright?”

A Comet came from Outerspace, 24×30″, $400

Broken in two -
Crumbled into dust again
And pounded in the pavement
I did not even see you bend

Pavement, 30×40″, $800

TV trays
Stacked in front of the
microwave
We watched a comedy on
Saturday

We became
Disappointed with
Bill Murry
About halfway through the
movie

After that
Tried a little bit of
caffeine
Started bouncing off the
ceiling
At the corner cafe

2 a.m.
Stopped at the curb in my
hatchback
Put the movie in the
moviebox
Put you at your house

What I really want to know is
How can I phrase this
I’m looking forward to next weekend

— Your House, 24×24″, $300

I stayed up too late
last night counting all the stars
I could not find one
out of place, no not anywhere

I prayed for you, hope you find
your way back home again
I could not hope for someplace
more precious, no not anywhere

we are the stars
look at how spectacular we can be
look at us shine
even as we fall
we are
the stars

We are the Stars, 23×35″, $400 

In the summer
you wore your hair long
In the winter
you were more than a little
scared of your first day
on the job in a town
you knew nothing about
and no one to talk to
waiting for spring

Waiting for Spring, 30×40″, $800 

I’ve had this idea for years now but have only now gotten around to it: juxtaposing my paintings with short clips of poetry, or poetic-like prose [call it what you want]. The idea being that viewing one might add something to the other and vice versa. Our paradigms - how we see the world - are hardwired into our lives, and I think this combination of words and images has the tasty potential of adding deeper layers to the simple act of viewing a painting.

Appearing high in my scattershot list of hobbies - almost as high as painting - is songwriting, accompanied by passable guitar chords. A few of these recent song lyrics have made for a nice grab-bag of sorts for these first “paintings-with-poetry”s I’ll be posting over the next week or two. These “lyrics” are not meant to be great literary masterpiecs, mind you - quite the contrary, they are not meant to stand on their own at all but simply add another layer to the painting being viewed.

Enjoy, and please leave a comment!