A live alive oak

"Rinconada Park" painting by Kevyn Warnock of California live oaks, Palo Alto, California.

Chantler63 Shakespeare Challenge and National Poetry Writing Month
Words invented by Shakespeare
Day 10: majestic

I love this painting because I love these majestic trees. I hope they continue to thrive.


Since earthdreamer says I can't take a day off, let me borrow sunflower's caps to THANK YOU FOR YESTERDAY'S ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION!!! Your many visits, your warm and witty comments, your hearts and stars, your new subscriptions all leave this scribbler without words. How generous and kind you are! You even got me my first (and possibly only) appearance in the Spotlight. I beg your forgiveness for not thanking each one of you separately. I am so far behind in writing and life in general that I am having to take the lazy road wherever possible. Hence ...

Today's poem was (very lightly) revised today, but I wrote it a decade ago.
I hope you don't miss the connection with the oaks in the painting. I'm happy to report that I have made a lot of progress since this poem's first draft, and my big oak is growing fast.

Dedicated to Anniemay, who requested maths.


THE ART OF MULTIPLICATION

Lucinda Parker did it
slathering one pink Lichtensteinian brushstroke
across four canvases framed as one.
•
Joe Feddersen did it
combining scores of prints
into one shimmering chevronesque mural
pinned to a gallery wall.
•
Joan Mitchell did it
stringing four paintings into one grand landscape
because she had a big idea and a small door.
•
David Hockney is doing it in watercolor
(which he used to sneer at)
and it's unknown why he should choose
combining standard sheets rather than
one large one which he could easily afford
(though some accuse him of replacing
the parts that didn't turn out well).
•
And why not?
Isn't art about doing it
however you damn please?
•
I want to explore the ways
of putting together small works
resulting in something larger than
the sum of the parts
like Vikram Seth's astonishing novel made of sonnets.
•
A friend has finished her memoir
and scheduled her novel’s completion.
She's learned the art of putting letters together
to make words,
words to make sentences
and paragraphs, and voilà!
•
I want this for myself
and haven't found it yet
though many times I've read and not applied
the truth that art and writing most depend upon
applying derrière to chair.
•
So here I am again at the museum
inspired yet unproductive
except for this poem which makes me smile
even though tears are gathering
behind the diptych of my eyes.
I have so many little acorns.
When will my big oak grow?