Sunday, October 13, 2013

Two poems & two photos by Karin Macphail Weber

New World Cathedral
The heart of the cathedral
in Cuzco is an inner court
of graven chairs that once upheld
the spines of Conquistadors,
Bishops and Inquisitors;
whose remnant shades now
steal across pillars
sucking the grace of Madonna.
Trussed up on a higher stage,
and spotlit in white satin robes; 
she is the woman of eternal ovation.

Carefully hidden from Mary’s sight,
beneath the arms of each chair,
tiny Incan women are pinioned;
their carved hair streaming
around apricot breasts oiled
by countless licking fingers 
while the rest of their bodies
are neatly molded into furniture.
   
Above, Mary looks a little tired,
like she wishes she could climb down.
After performing for others for so long,
she would open her miraculous arms
like a kestrel sailing home
to her olive groves and clay pots,
and put on the frayed hem she used to wear
sweeping sawdust for her son.

leavetaking
deerprints lace
through a russet
bittersweet maze

leaving the last
familiar path
swan necked ferns
throw their emerald
feathers to the morning

and birch trees wade
into a valley
clasping branches
all the way down

the air pulls a song
from the invisible wings 
of a dragonfly

to the east
the sun leans forward
and gilded blood pours
down the skinned
shoulders of mountains

to the west
against sheer
granite radiance
the night tears
its face away
*
Karin Macphail Weber is a writer and artist. Her writing and artwork reflect a passion for mythology, nature, personal and cultural memory. She has published fiction and poetry, and is currently working on a fantasy novel. Her home is in Mississauga, Ontario. Read Karin’s Invasion of the Snotty Badgers,” winner of the Writers’ Union’s postcard story competition here and see more photography and poetry by Karin here.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Bolton, Caledon, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Orillia, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond. 

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful poems and images. I especially loved the contrast between Mary and the hidden, imprisoned Incan women.

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