Old Rag

Loose Leaves – Art Inspired

 

Arnold Newman - Jackson Pollock (1949)

Another late addition to my previous poems on Pollock … (see also, Leaf 134, Leaf 135, and Leaf 331)

 

 

Old rag

and turpentine

by an empty easel.

 

 

 

Enough Time

Loose Leaves – Reflections

 

Edward Hopper - Room in Brooklyn (1932)

For me, it’s the unwritten third line which makes this haiku resonate; hence the broken second line.

 

 

There never was

enough time

                      until

 

 

 

 This poem was originally posted on Bluesky

Morning Star

Loose Leaves – Art Inspired

 

Edvard Munch - Young Woman on the Shore (1896)

 

This poem is a short verse paraphrase of a Welsh prose poem, originally written by Dafydd ap Gwilym, c.1325-c.1380.*

 

 

THE SEAGULL

 

Seagull, on the seething tide,

riding anchor here with me,

side by side; take wing and

rise to the rampart o’er the cliff,

to the corner of the castle wall and

whisper these words to her within.

 

She is the morning star to my sky,

Venus, her copper-coloured hair,

shines like a sun to light my day;

Seagull, make bold to greet her

and sing of my heart; then return

with her gentle word, else ere I die.

Edvard Munch - Moon Light (1895)

*Adapted from 'The Seagull' in A Celtic Miscellany: Translations from the Celtic Literatures, by Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson (Penguin, 1971 [1951])

Fashion Reprise

Loose Leaves – Art Inspired

 

 

NEW, NEW ROMANTICS

 

Black leather and

white bricks, cowlicks

and crimped hair –

high-heels n winkle pickers,

cool cats n slush puppies,

sunglasses

mustard yellow

smiles and surprises,

fashion reprises

                       80s style –

                       all anew.

 

 

 

Photograph credit: Coachtopia

All Angles

Loose Leaves – Art Inspired

 

Dod Proctor - Early Morning, Newlyn (1926)

Another poem about Newlyn in Cornwall, the UK mainland’s southernmost fishing port.

 

 

FISHING PORT

 

All angles –

rooftops and the

smooth sea.

 

Curved lines,

hauling up the

morning’s catch.

 

From coastal

fishing grounds

to beds of ice.

 

Sleeping with

lips parted

and eyes open.

 

Silently mouthing,

the auctioneer’s

loud voice.

 

Revived by

the warm oven:

a silver-faced choir

singing to the starry

firmament above.

 

 

Paul Bommer - Stargazy Pie

 

A Fairytale Romance

Loose Leaves – Art Inspired

 

Victor Burgin - Untitled (1991) Tate

 

CINDERELLA [v.I.]

 

Savouring –

the curved line

of her shoe.

 

 

 

Victor Burgin - Untitled (1991) Tate

CINDERELLA [v.II.]

Lost –

gazing into the elegant

lines of her shoe.

Black Efflorescence Pumps - by Roger Vivier (Vanity Fair)

Leafless

Loose Leaves – Looking Back

 

Kaii Higashiyama - Song of Silence (1981)

 

VERSAILLES

 

Tall leafless trees

mirroring

                  autumn.

 

 

 

The Local Regular

Loose Leaves – Art Inspired

 

Dod Procter - Tolcarne Inn (1935)

 

TOLCARNE INN

 

Listening to the soft

creak of floorboards

by the bar, and the low

murmur of warm and

gentle conversation.

 

 

 See also: Leaf 366

Sisters

Loose Leaves – Reflections

 

Jiwoon Pak - Fade to Grey (2015)

 

My wife and

her sister –

their voices merge.

 

 

 

Rural Rush Hour

Loose Leaves – Looking Back

 

C.F. Tunnicliffe - Welsh Hill Farm (1949)

This illustration, although set in Wales, reminds me of a very Withnail-esque time several years ago when, while out walking down a country lane in Cornwall, we were overtaken by a herd of cows heading back to the milking shed.

 

 

Caught up –

evening commute

back to the farm.

 

 

 

Morning Snow

Loose Leaves – Art Inspired

 

Claude Monet - The Magpie (1869)

Crisp and clean –

a magpie amid

the morning snow.

 

 

 

Exciting Women

Loose Leaves – Art Inspired

 

Allen Jones - Exciting Women (1964) Tate

 

Unsure if

they are laughing

with him or …

Allen Jones - III (1976) Tate

 

Strike A Pose

Loose Leaves – Reflections

 

An unblinking Supermodel stance, striding the catwalk, straight into the cameras’ bright flashes … zeroing in, hitting her mark.

 

 

PINS

 

Looking long and hard –

her smooth, sharp stare;

walking a new line –

her long, long legs like

twin sticks of liquorice –

sashaying, stop: about turn

                                        bye, bye!

 Photograph credit: Next

The Deal

Loose Leaves – Reflections

 

Changing the

terms and conditions

– poison ivy.

 

 

 

Photo: Ryohei Takanashi - Model/Musician: Ringo Sheena / Numéro Tokyo, "Nom: Boucheron, Prénom: Frédéric" (2026)

Perfect Poise

Loose Leaves – Reflections

 

PATENT LEATHER PUMPS

 

She walks

a marble floor,

with perfect

poise and polish.

 

 

 

Original Photo Credit: Unknown

Orange Hues

Loose Leaves – Art Inspired

 

 

Mark Rothko - Red, Orange, Orange on Red (1962)

Rothko skies

and Seagram views

– holiday as art.

 

 

 

A Lost Dragon

Loose Leaves – Looking Back / Art Inspired

 

Tani Buncho - Dragon in Clouds (British Museum)

Beside the Benten-dō on the island in the middle of Shinobazu Pond there used to be a painting of a dragon by Tani Bunchō (1763–1841). It wasn’t easy to find or particularly easy to see, and I suspect many people missed it, because it was situated on the ceiling over the fountain (手水舎) where visitors to the Benten-dō purify themselves, washing their hands and mouths, before making their donations, saying their prayers, and lighting incense. I think the painting may have been removed during the renovation work after the Benten-dō was damaged during the earthquake on 3 March 2011. It was a small wooden panel. I very much hope it has since been preserved somewhere safe. 

The painting illustrating this poem, also by Tani Bunchō, is similar. It is a hanging scroll that is part of the Japanese collection at the British Museum.

 

 

Arcing over water –

a dragon

by the Benten-dō.

 

 

 

Yoshida Hiroshi - Carp Tortoises (1940)

À La Recherche ...

Loose Leaves – Art Inspired

 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (1876)

This art inspired poem originally appeared on Bluesky in response to a #Paintku writing prompt: ‘Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette,’ a painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1876. Many thanks to Martina Matijević for this particular ‘madeleine’ which reminded me of Marcel Proust’s “À la recherche du temps perdu” – a magnificent novel that stands like a literary cathedral, and which took me twenty years to read (see here).

 

 

LES SOUVENIRS DE MARCEL

 

Every moment relived –

catching a cough

in a handkerchief.

 

 

 

See also, Leaf 151

Warm Ochre Tones

Loose Leaves – Looking Back

 

This is a somewhat hybrid, art inspired poem, written in response to a visual #dailyimageprompt – a painting, originally posted on Bluesky, by the artist: Mike, @po3try.bsky.social. Seeing its warm ochre tones evoked a kind of alliterative synaesthesia, reminding me of a certain singer whom I have always been quite fond of …

 

 

Mellowed by time –

her rust red hair

and velvet voice.

 

 

 

Belinda Carlisle

Image Credits: Mike (top) & Nik Spanos (bottom)

Ave Maris Stella

Loose Leaves – Art Inspired

 

Lita Albuquerque - Southern Cross from Stellar Axis Antarctica, Ross Ice Shelf (2006)

This poem has a double inspiration: Firstly, Lita Albuquerque’s “Southern Cross from Stellar Axis Antarctica, Ross Ice Shelf” (2006). And secondly, “Ave Maris Stella”, composed by Mine Kawakami, and performed at Santiago de Compostela, Spain (2025).

 

 

AVE MARIS STELLA

 

All points fixed

still yet moving

amid the infinite.

 

 

 

Mine Kawakami - Ave Maris Stella (2025)

 

This poem was originally written and posted on Bluesky