Wispy Cirrus Clouds Poem by Matthew Buchwald

Wispy Cirrus Clouds

Rating: 5.0


Besides photographic mountains aggregated by the canvas above a lake
That neither reflects the sky nor the psyche,
Certain clouds are formed from a jumble of shapes,
Each one condensed from a single stroke of paint.

Umber, blue and white, massed around the peaks, they imply
The existence of an airy domain apart from the one below,
Rather than an awning or marquee shading the hills.
Given the preponderance of mist over earth, cows also seem to float,
So much of the meadows seeming useless,
As if the pasture were up in the heavens.

Yet the painter in deciding how to set up his easel
Reposes in them the shadow of sense: 'Just so, ' he says,
'The commingling of ethereal shreds of vapor in profusion
Triumphs over the corporeal gravity of an inanimate pile of rock.
Absent the more material traits - wispy cirrus clouds have a native zest,
And so this painting is realized.'

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Matthew Buchwald

Matthew Buchwald

New York City
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