Deep Cuts
An ekphrastic poem from a collaborative collection
Hi Everyone.
I wanted to share a poem with you I wrote called Deep Cuts. I wrote this poem as part of a collection of poems and other creative writing pieces by myself and eleven other authors published in A Pot Of Basil: ekphrases on love and loss, edited by Lorette C. Luzajic.
This book grew out of a workshop of eleven of us with Lorette as our guide and mentor. It was an Ekphrastic workshop about Love and Loss and we became a tight knit group of twelve for the next couple of months…our connections still continue today. It was an incredible journey and one of the most fulfilling experiences I have ever been a part of. To explore, write and create a publication with others. Which makes the outcome all the more precious to share with you.
Hope you enjoy!
Until next time,
Sara
Deep Cuts
by Sara Castaneda
after Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent Van Gogh (Dutch) 1890
Today my D.J. brain
she drops the bass.
Creates anticipation,
expectation -
Hangs…
She never hits the beat.
I know the beat she’s looking for,
One hymnal that you sang.
Vinyl from your collection
you left to me.
But, no,
Please not today
don’t want to play this game.
Yet the bass pulsates
my head it aches,
I retrieve the cardboard box
your holy cross.
I flip one over to side B
where you and I reside,
that’s where the deep cuts hide.
The needle dips
into the inkwell groove
your smooth voice moves.
She’s scratchy, parched,
she stops and starts;
drinks greedily
from your sweet mead of poetry.
The song grows strong,
Then suddenly -
you burst in glory song.
I pause.
Your voice becomes the room
all things I touch are you,
my God I love you.
Now you’re in my skin
where do you end and I begin?
Why did we love and hate
so deep we could not escape,
a walled in gate
our lust and jealousy.
This song sings lovingly
of moody deep blue dreams,
were they for Us -
I wish I knew
but I can’t ask you,
missed my cue,
my body aches for you.
Now, what do I do
but look for clues
through your vinyl deep cut blues
If you’d like to read all of the pieces included in A Pot of Basil, you can click here to check it out.
A Pot of Basil: ekphrases on love and loss This collection of poems and stories grew out of an ekphrastic writing series on love and loss. Featuring work by Donna Carnes. Sara Castaneda, Allison Connolly, Barbara Krasner, Meredyth Lillejord, Lorette C. Luzajic, Ann Matzke, Lisa Molina, Karen Ostrov. Iris Quinn, Beverly Sce, and Rebecca Weigold.
Love this, Sara.