Oh Beth, you have found your poetic form--or perhaps it has found you. Indeed Robin Payes treated us to a lovely patoum in her recent posting with "the spirit of 26"--now you've created a new poem (after 20 years away!--can it be?) to honor your beloved friendship with Faun, employing this time-honored form. Beth it took my breath away! These gentle but potent lines are gutting my friend: "at a young friend’s bedside, sleep’s prequel sent/the still grief,/metastasis, unsettles the quiet grace". Absolutely stunning. Now of course we will be cheering you on to write more. I feel the energy and excitement with you that arrives when inspiration reaches the perfect moment in your creative life! And the layers upon the cloud--wow it takes on a whole new level of delight for me! Beth this is a moment to celebrate--and as always, thank you for sharing this beauty so generously with your audience! Looking forward to what's to come!
Wow, thank you so much for your high compliment and for always believing in me! I love your poetry, and such a positive response from you is also encouraging to me. Writing this poem -- the first one in so many years -- felt intimidating, but I'm glad I did it. Robin is such an inspiration, and she encouraged me, which I so appreciate.
One of my readers suggested I write a poem for each of my art pieces, and I might just do that! I really want to get back into poetry writing and get some fresh poems out there.
And thank you so much for your kind words about the cloud; I'm glad you are enjoying it! I love painting these heavenly objects.
I remember you writing about your friendship with Faun in earlier essays. I'm glad you two were such good friends and that she had you by her bedside when she was dying. You embody what it means to be a Witness. A true Friend unafraid to sit with somenone in her pain. Silence is sometimes the best gift to offer. I'm sure your presence meant a great deal to her.
Your poem is wonderful. It sounds like writing patoum is a bit complex. I've been thinking about writing some poetry, but have yet to give it a try. I'm imtimidated by it. Not sure why. You're inspiring me, though. I'm glad you found your way back to writing it and congrats on getting those older poems published!
The cloud painting really makes a statement as is. No trees needed.
Thank you for this beautiful tribute to Faun. She would be so proud of you, my friend. xo
Thank you for this wonderful comment; I so appreciate it. Yes, the silence was a comfortable one and, while I felt helpless, I remained at her bedside, knowing that being there for her was meaningful and extremely important. I didn't want her to be alone.
Thank you so much for your high compliment on my poetry. I admit that with this particular form, and the fact that I wrote no poetry for so long, I was very intimidated. Poetry can feel intimidating, but truly they are just words on a page, and you can break every rule, giving the writer freedom. I know you have it in you to write quality poems, and I would love to read what you write.
You don't even have to start with a structured poem like a pantoum. Just let the words on the page, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. ❤
Thank you so much, Robin. I so appreciate your generous words. Yes, your pantoum really did inspire me, as does all of your writing. I will continue to write on.❤
What a lovely cloud painting and terrific poem and tribute to your friend. I have written quite a lot of poems also, but I never heard of this particular form. So happy you have so many talented ways to express yourself artistically.
Beth - Thank you for sharing a bit of your process around self-care and how you create different forms of art tied to such complex emotions. The human spirit never ceases to amaze me. Twenty years, you say. Now that is quite the space. To hold on to hope in the midst of that kind of anguish, and then to share pieces of your transformative experience that helps both yourself and others, is deeply humbling and moving. And you do it across two different forms, which makes it all the more remarkable.
Thank you so much for reading and viewing my work. Yes, a 20-year poetry hibernation for me! I'm so glad to venture back into the world of poetry again, even if it feels a tad foreign to me right now. :) I feel such joy in the creative space. The cloud was beyond fun to create.
I think self-care includes self-love. When we love ourselves, we often try to take care of ourselves. When I create, I am very well cared for.
Such a beautiful and loving poem full of spirit. The repetition gives it an almost musical quality, a soft cadence. Your painting turned out wonderful, I especially love the texture in the clouds, that with the blue sky below gives the painting a message of hope.
I so appreciate you! This poem was difficult to write -- based on subject matter and the fact that I've been so out of practice. Regarding the painting, I don't typically use globs of paint, but this time I did! Yes, there is definitely hope exuded from the clouds and sky. Thank you for your kind comment.
This is such a beautiful and moving tribute to your friend and the time you had together in that Quiet Space. I've not read your poetry before but you have a great talent with words and have overcome the challenge of working with a different form of poetry, passing with flying colours. Add to that the cloud painting, the mountainous 'happy accident' pairs so well with your poetry - perhaps that could be a new challenge, write a poem to go with each of your paintings. Lovely work Beth!
I really appreciate your reading and viewing my work. Thank you for saying I'm talented with words. This encourages me to write more poems! I LOVE your idea of writing a poem to go with each painting. I never thought of that before, but it completely makes sense. I look forward to doing this in the future. Thank you!
This is a beautiful tribute to your friend. The poem lends itself to the clouds, as it captures the etherial feeling in your words. I would describe the textures and dimension of the clouds as intuition that informed you, rather than a happy accident. I hold intuition as the sacred language of soul rising up in us to find expression.
You have so much talent in your painting, prose and poetry, Beth. What an honor and inspiration it is to walk beside you, bearing witness to your process. As always, sign me your forever friend and fan.
I am so grateful for your feedback and kind words about my poem and painting.
You offered me such a great perspective, one that I never thought of before -- that although I name a part of a painting as a "happy accident," perhaps the result is more of an act of intuition. When I paint, it seems like an accident, but maybe there are no accidents with creativity. I love your idea of intuition "as the sacred language of soul rising up in us to find expression." Beautifully said.
I am in awe of you my friend, and your words always inspire me. So glad we are in this creative journey together.❤
You are a very intuitive artist in my eyes. And what came through you as you created those clouds, is wonder-filled. I sometimes watch the big, fluffy, cumulus clouds -- I love how they gather themselves and change shapes, how some of the cloud becomes wisps and other parts thicken, like in your painting. Let's call it cloud meditations -- a back porch or back yard activity to slow and calm the heart and mind, and rest in the beauty of the natural world.
Beautifully said! This was so much fun to paint. Years ago -- and for years -- I used to stress a lot over my art pieces. Now it's nothing but joy.
Like you, I love watching clouds of all sorts. They always fill me with wonder. I've always wanted to paint clouds with sun rays going through them. I guess I've got to capture that in a photo someday. Cloud meditations. I love it!
Thank you for sharing the link to the explanation of this form of poetry. I think I’ve seen poetry following this form in the past and wondered about it. This is a touching and beautiful poem, thank you for allowing yourself to be vulnerable to go back to this space.
I love happy accidents. You were right to stop when you did in the painting. Trees would have been a distraction. Thank you, Beth.
Thank you so much for your comment on my poem and painting. I had never written this kind of poem before, and I'm glad I pushed through and did it. I can't believe it's been 20 years since Faun died.
Thank you for your constructive remark about not adding the trees. As you know from creating art yourself, sometimes a work sort of creates itself, and then we know when it is complete.
Beth, this is so moving ... such a tender, steady holding of love, loss, and the quiet rituals that remain. Oh, I’m delighted that you’ve reached for poetry’s pen again! "The Quiet Space" is ab-soul-utely beautiful, and it carries Faun’s presence with such grace.
And I love how your latest painting echoes the poem’s spirit ... for both seem to be shaped by what emerges when you let things be, letting the quiet reveal its own landscape. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful art and your beautiful heart with us. 🙏💖
Thank you so much for your support. I am so very glad you enjoyed the poem; coming from a poet of your caliber, that means a lot to me.
I agree that the cloud reflects the spirit of the poem. They work together, in a way, to convey the quietness of true friendship, as well as the sacredness of bearing witness to an ill friend's experience. I am so grateful our paths have crossed on Substack.
This is profoundly beautiful Beth. Thank you for sharing something so intimate and luminous.
Thank you so much, Marie. I always appreciate you and your wonderful comments!
Oh Beth, you have found your poetic form--or perhaps it has found you. Indeed Robin Payes treated us to a lovely patoum in her recent posting with "the spirit of 26"--now you've created a new poem (after 20 years away!--can it be?) to honor your beloved friendship with Faun, employing this time-honored form. Beth it took my breath away! These gentle but potent lines are gutting my friend: "at a young friend’s bedside, sleep’s prequel sent/the still grief,/metastasis, unsettles the quiet grace". Absolutely stunning. Now of course we will be cheering you on to write more. I feel the energy and excitement with you that arrives when inspiration reaches the perfect moment in your creative life! And the layers upon the cloud--wow it takes on a whole new level of delight for me! Beth this is a moment to celebrate--and as always, thank you for sharing this beauty so generously with your audience! Looking forward to what's to come!
Hi Gerry,
Wow, thank you so much for your high compliment and for always believing in me! I love your poetry, and such a positive response from you is also encouraging to me. Writing this poem -- the first one in so many years -- felt intimidating, but I'm glad I did it. Robin is such an inspiration, and she encouraged me, which I so appreciate.
One of my readers suggested I write a poem for each of my art pieces, and I might just do that! I really want to get back into poetry writing and get some fresh poems out there.
And thank you so much for your kind words about the cloud; I'm glad you are enjoying it! I love painting these heavenly objects.
Hi Beth,
I remember you writing about your friendship with Faun in earlier essays. I'm glad you two were such good friends and that she had you by her bedside when she was dying. You embody what it means to be a Witness. A true Friend unafraid to sit with somenone in her pain. Silence is sometimes the best gift to offer. I'm sure your presence meant a great deal to her.
Your poem is wonderful. It sounds like writing patoum is a bit complex. I've been thinking about writing some poetry, but have yet to give it a try. I'm imtimidated by it. Not sure why. You're inspiring me, though. I'm glad you found your way back to writing it and congrats on getting those older poems published!
The cloud painting really makes a statement as is. No trees needed.
Thank you for this beautiful tribute to Faun. She would be so proud of you, my friend. xo
Hi Nancy,
Thank you for this wonderful comment; I so appreciate it. Yes, the silence was a comfortable one and, while I felt helpless, I remained at her bedside, knowing that being there for her was meaningful and extremely important. I didn't want her to be alone.
Thank you so much for your high compliment on my poetry. I admit that with this particular form, and the fact that I wrote no poetry for so long, I was very intimidated. Poetry can feel intimidating, but truly they are just words on a page, and you can break every rule, giving the writer freedom. I know you have it in you to write quality poems, and I would love to read what you write.
You don't even have to start with a structured poem like a pantoum. Just let the words on the page, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. ❤
Beth, what a superb use of patoum and how it reveals new meaning in unexpected turns of phrase:
"But the wintry torment,
metastasis, unsettles the quiet grace
at a young friend’s bedside, sleep’s prequel sent
the still grief,
metastasis, unsettles the quiet grace"
Sleeps prequel sent...unsettles the quiet grace. Stunning. A powerful tribute to your friend and her suffering...and yours.
I am honored that my pantoum, "the spirit of '26" was the inspiration for you to pick up your poet's plume again. Keep going!
https://remembertheworld.substack.com/p/the-spirit-of-26
Thank you so much, Robin. I so appreciate your generous words. Yes, your pantoum really did inspire me, as does all of your writing. I will continue to write on.❤
What a lovely cloud painting and terrific poem and tribute to your friend. I have written quite a lot of poems also, but I never heard of this particular form. So happy you have so many talented ways to express yourself artistically.
Thank you so much, Nancy. I didn't know you wrote poetry; if you ever want to share, it would be nice to read.
Expressing ourselves is a fundamental need, I think. Thank goodness for Substack!
Beth - Thank you for sharing a bit of your process around self-care and how you create different forms of art tied to such complex emotions. The human spirit never ceases to amaze me. Twenty years, you say. Now that is quite the space. To hold on to hope in the midst of that kind of anguish, and then to share pieces of your transformative experience that helps both yourself and others, is deeply humbling and moving. And you do it across two different forms, which makes it all the more remarkable.
Hi Bronce,
Thank you so much for reading and viewing my work. Yes, a 20-year poetry hibernation for me! I'm so glad to venture back into the world of poetry again, even if it feels a tad foreign to me right now. :) I feel such joy in the creative space. The cloud was beyond fun to create.
I think self-care includes self-love. When we love ourselves, we often try to take care of ourselves. When I create, I am very well cared for.
Such a beautiful and loving poem full of spirit. The repetition gives it an almost musical quality, a soft cadence. Your painting turned out wonderful, I especially love the texture in the clouds, that with the blue sky below gives the painting a message of hope.
Hi Susan,
I so appreciate you! This poem was difficult to write -- based on subject matter and the fact that I've been so out of practice. Regarding the painting, I don't typically use globs of paint, but this time I did! Yes, there is definitely hope exuded from the clouds and sky. Thank you for your kind comment.
This is such a beautiful and moving tribute to your friend and the time you had together in that Quiet Space. I've not read your poetry before but you have a great talent with words and have overcome the challenge of working with a different form of poetry, passing with flying colours. Add to that the cloud painting, the mountainous 'happy accident' pairs so well with your poetry - perhaps that could be a new challenge, write a poem to go with each of your paintings. Lovely work Beth!
Hi Lin,
I really appreciate your reading and viewing my work. Thank you for saying I'm talented with words. This encourages me to write more poems! I LOVE your idea of writing a poem to go with each painting. I never thought of that before, but it completely makes sense. I look forward to doing this in the future. Thank you!
This is a beautiful tribute to your friend. The poem lends itself to the clouds, as it captures the etherial feeling in your words. I would describe the textures and dimension of the clouds as intuition that informed you, rather than a happy accident. I hold intuition as the sacred language of soul rising up in us to find expression.
You have so much talent in your painting, prose and poetry, Beth. What an honor and inspiration it is to walk beside you, bearing witness to your process. As always, sign me your forever friend and fan.
Hi Stephanie,
I am so grateful for your feedback and kind words about my poem and painting.
You offered me such a great perspective, one that I never thought of before -- that although I name a part of a painting as a "happy accident," perhaps the result is more of an act of intuition. When I paint, it seems like an accident, but maybe there are no accidents with creativity. I love your idea of intuition "as the sacred language of soul rising up in us to find expression." Beautifully said.
I am in awe of you my friend, and your words always inspire me. So glad we are in this creative journey together.❤
You are a very intuitive artist in my eyes. And what came through you as you created those clouds, is wonder-filled. I sometimes watch the big, fluffy, cumulus clouds -- I love how they gather themselves and change shapes, how some of the cloud becomes wisps and other parts thicken, like in your painting. Let's call it cloud meditations -- a back porch or back yard activity to slow and calm the heart and mind, and rest in the beauty of the natural world.
Beautifully said! This was so much fun to paint. Years ago -- and for years -- I used to stress a lot over my art pieces. Now it's nothing but joy.
Like you, I love watching clouds of all sorts. They always fill me with wonder. I've always wanted to paint clouds with sun rays going through them. I guess I've got to capture that in a photo someday. Cloud meditations. I love it!
I'll think of you when I next engage in cloud meditations! Big hugs.
Thank you for sharing the link to the explanation of this form of poetry. I think I’ve seen poetry following this form in the past and wondered about it. This is a touching and beautiful poem, thank you for allowing yourself to be vulnerable to go back to this space.
I love happy accidents. You were right to stop when you did in the painting. Trees would have been a distraction. Thank you, Beth.
Hi Alene,
Thank you so much for your comment on my poem and painting. I had never written this kind of poem before, and I'm glad I pushed through and did it. I can't believe it's been 20 years since Faun died.
Thank you for your constructive remark about not adding the trees. As you know from creating art yourself, sometimes a work sort of creates itself, and then we know when it is complete.
Beth, this is so moving ... such a tender, steady holding of love, loss, and the quiet rituals that remain. Oh, I’m delighted that you’ve reached for poetry’s pen again! "The Quiet Space" is ab-soul-utely beautiful, and it carries Faun’s presence with such grace.
And I love how your latest painting echoes the poem’s spirit ... for both seem to be shaped by what emerges when you let things be, letting the quiet reveal its own landscape. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful art and your beautiful heart with us. 🙏💖
Hi Deborah,
Thank you so much for your support. I am so very glad you enjoyed the poem; coming from a poet of your caliber, that means a lot to me.
I agree that the cloud reflects the spirit of the poem. They work together, in a way, to convey the quietness of true friendship, as well as the sacredness of bearing witness to an ill friend's experience. I am so grateful our paths have crossed on Substack.