I’m back from my quick trip to Sabi Sands which was mainly to see leopards in the wild. Leopards are very endangered so seeing them in nature was high on my list of ‘must dos’. Afterall, with climate change and continuous habitat encroachment by humans, these magnificent creatures, and many others, may well be gone forever in the foreseeable future. It always saddens me that so few people (relatively) care about nature and the conservation of our oceans, forests, wildlife and birds, but there is only so much the few that do care can do to raise awareness in the face of a wall of indifference.
I know that the readers of this blog do care, and I thank you for that.
Melissa‘s challenge is slightly complex this week. She proposed a few artworks by the same artist as picture prompts and asked poets to write a poem expressing the thoughts the picture of their choice evoked. After writing the poem, she suggested we read up about the artist and see if it changed our feelings in respect of our chosen artwork. You can read about the artworks and join the prompt here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/02/18/sep%c2%b7a%c2%b7rate/
I chose this artwork:
My song parody below is intended to be humorous and take the ‘mick’ out of some of the pretentiousness and snobbishness in some art circles. It doesn’t necessary reflect my views on art as I do produce some non-realistic, surrealist work myself.
Why can’t artists choose to create objects of beauty?
Why can’t artists choose to create objects of beauty?
Still life paintings so realistic they almost smell fruity
Why add to the ugliness in this world?
Depicting on paper the endless hatred that unfurls
***
Just look at it
Misery articulated in every line
Flying in the face of all teachings of the Divine
***
You might say I picked a poor example
But did I?
What’s the purpose of a banana taped to a board? Note 1
An over privileged buys it for a price few could afford
How pretentious to call that mockery art
***
I wouldn’t pay a single cent for that
In fact, if it was a gift, I’d send it back
I’d view it as an insult to my sensibilities
Why can’t artists focus on depicting happiness and joy?
***
You’d think purchasers would want to view art with pleasure
Something delightful to brighten up their day
But no, they prefer to wallow in the hideous
Or even worse the clearly sad and piteous
***
Of the banana, I’m not a fan
But it’s better than a painted beer can Note 2
Really, what has art come to?
I’d much rather look at artworks produced by kindergarteners
***
Squiggly line drawings – I ask you what sort of art is that?
It’s this sort of mediocracy that allows AI to compete
AI artworks easily as good as those of modern art elite
Why can’t artists focus on depicting happiness and joy?
***
The attributes of a good piece of art should be well-known
You shouldn’t have to look at splodges and try to guess
Exactly what the intent was behind the colourful mess
An artwork’s content should clearly show what it is
***
As soon as an artist picks up his pencil and starts to work
Viewers should gasp in wonder at the work in progress
That rarely happens with much of the art that does the rounds
Looking at it turns the viewers smiles to frowns
***
A good example is modern surrealist art
What on earth is its purpose to a viewer
It makes me want to poke out my eyes with a skewer
There are even times when art completely disappears
***
Disappears … What is non-art? Why use the word art
In connection with an object that is something else entirely
I can see a photograph is a photograph without any enquiry
Surely everyone can see a stone’s a stone
***
Artists go to school to learn techniques and styles
Just as clothes designers must learn all about textiles
Why do they throw everything they learned away?
I think their attempts to be different lead them astray
***
There is nothing better than a beautiful landscape
There is no need the natural world to reshape
But create a realistic picture and you’re criticised
Why can’t artist focus on depicting happiness and joy?
Reading up about the artist didn’t change my dislike of his work, although in saying that I did find this face painting compelling in a dark way. In fact, it made me wonder even more why he is famous. So, my song above remains unchanged. Do you recognise the rhythm and flow? I’ll give you a hint – I went to see My Fair Lady on Sunday evening and the music is still stuck in my head.
I am not much of a team player. I have had some very bad experiences where my hard work and creative solutions have been accredited to more senior people on my so called team. I’ve also had situations where the team doesn’t listen and a crisis results. These situations have left a bad taste in my mouth and now I prefer to run my own processes with as little involvement from other people as possible.
Sanaa has provide a lovely Valentine’s prompt for d’Verse, as follows:
1- Love Potions and Concoctions: Write a poem as a recipe for a love potion. Throw in some berries and cream, maybe a dash of cinnamon and chivalry. Tell us what love means to you.
2- Love Letters Through Time: Write a poem in the form of a love letter. It can be addressed to yourself, to someone special and/or in memory of a person who has passed.
3- Love in a Digital Age: Bring love into the 21st century by exploring the dynamics of modern relationships. I am referring to the age of social media, dating apps, and virtual connections. Let your poem decide whether technology enhances or complicates matters even further.
Sphiwe held up the panelled “love letter” necklace she’d created for her young husband, BongiNkosi. The numerous beads glimmered in the strong summer light. BongiNkosi was working far away on a mine, and this intricately patterned artwork was a secret declaration of her enduring love.
Smiling, she thought back to the early days of their courtship when she was just fourteen years old. After she and BongiNkosi had agreed to proceed with a relationship, she’d fashioned a simple ucu (necklace) made of two strings of twisted white beads to which she’d attached one beaded white ring as a symbol of her virginity. Her iqhikiza (older sister) had presented the gift to her admirer on her behalf. A giggle escaped Sphiwe’s slightly parted lips as she remembered how BongiNkosi had rushed home to hang up a white handkerchief, announcing to the world that he was in love.
As their relationship progressed, Sphiwe had crafted other rings and a second love letter incorporating numerous red beads to demonstrate the evolution of her love and her longing. BongiNkosi had reciprocated by replacing the white handkerchief with a red one.
With one hand on her swollen belly, she kissed the necklace and laid it in a box, ready for travel. It would serve as a reminder of their love and his forthcoming fatherhood until the time was ripe for him to journey home for the birth of his first child.
Picture caption: Book cover of Menagerie featuring a glowing streetlight against a dark background
What Amazon says
King’s. The Tower of London. Glass. What do these have in common?
Each is a famous menagerie.
While this Menagerie doesn’t focus on exotic animals, it does contain a collection of stories that explore various trials people face and how their reactions shape their worlds.
Survivors of a haunted bridge. Women who wait while their husbands fight a war. Former partners reuniting to solve a cold-case murder.
These are just three of the thirteen stories in this compendium, encompassing past and present, natural and supernatural, legend and reality. The genres and timelines are varied, but there’s a little something for everyone who enjoys reading about simpler times and small-town life.
My review
I am a fan of short stories as I like their concise use of words and fast pace. Of course, short stories still need to have a proper story line, and the reader needs to be grounded in the setting and engaged with the characters. This is not always easy to achieve in a short story format, but Joan Hall has managed to do it well in this interesting and well written collection of short stories.
This collection is varied and explores a number of topics and situations with the common thread of all being set in small towns in North America. The descriptions of life and relationships in small towns in the USA were fascinating for me as I have always lived in a big city. There was just enough detail to steep me in the setting without it bogging down the stories.
I enjoyed the large variety of characters, some of which are strong and enterprising women which I always value in a book. The characterisations demonstrate the author’s deep understanding of the type of people populating her stories and their thought patterns, way of life, and anxieties.
It is difficult to choose favourite stories from this collection as they are all engaging, but the following three stand out in my mind:
A Moment in Time: A dual timeline story set approximately 100 years apart and featuring two wars, two men fighting in the wars, and two young women waiting anxiously for the return of their men. I am partial to dual timeline stories and plots involving war, so this was right up my street.
Lone Wolf – A wonderful story of friendship between a wolf and a man and how they are able to help and care for each other.
Without a Trace – This story was filled with mystery and angst as the tale of a family that disappeared without a trace unfolds. As a person who moved continuously as a child, I related strongly to the main character, Rick, and his struggle to fit into a new school environment and manage the continuous changes to his life.
If you enjoy short stories with interesting and varied storylines and great characterisations, you will love this collection.
Picture caption: Book cover of Shivers of Life by Beem Weeks featuring a face shape constructed of broken glass/mirror shards
What Amazon says
These twenty short stories are a peek into individual lives caught up in spectacular moments in time. Children, teens, mothers, and the elderly each have stories to share. Readers witness tragedy and fulfillment, love and hate, loss and renewal. Historical events become backdrops in the lives of ordinary people, those souls forgotten with the passage of time. Beem Weeks tackles diverse issues running the gamut from Alzheimer’s disease to civil rights, abandonment to abuse, from young love to the death of a child. Long-hidden secrets and notions of revenge unfold at the promptings of rich and realistic characters; plot lines often lead readers into strange and dark corners. Within Slivers of Life, Weeks proves that everybody has a story to tell-and no two are ever exactly alike.
My review
Slivers of Life is an apt title for this collection of short stories that cover a wide variety of topics and colourful characters of different ages, occupations, and intentions. Despite the short length of the stories, the author has created compelling characters whose behaviours, although not always exemplary, are very relatable.
I find the best way I can review a short story collection is by sharing insights into a few of the stories that have stayed with me the longest. My most memorable stories are as follows;
A Match Met – an intriguing peep into betrayal and revenge that will have your wondering whether the end justifies the means.
Lost Boy – a truly compelling read about a grumpy old man who finds fault with the noise generated by the little boy next door. Mr Spellman does everything he can, internally and externally to stop the irritation, but sometimes what we think we want turns out to be the opposite.
Night Flight – a poignant look at life for young boys being raised by a single parent and the pressure it puts on both the parent and the child. The story delves into the ease with which rejected and/or neglected youngsters can slip into crime and drug taking. There is a supernatural element which leaves you wondering if it actually happened or not. Was the narrator reliable?
And a little child shall lead them – this story talks to the invisibility of homeless and unfortunate people and the judgement that more successful people immediately pass on them due to their circumstances. A poignant story of caring.
Remaining Ruth – a peep into depression, teenage angst and cutting. Very scary for any parent who struggles to reach and understand their teenage child.
On the whole, an intriguing and well written collection of short stories that I really enjoyed reading.
On Ginza Street, I came across some lovely street art and took pictures of it for blogging friend, Resa, who loves street art. You can find Resa’s most recent street art post here: https://graffitiluxandmurals.com/2025/01/26/muhammad-ali/
Picture caption: Street art on Ginza Street, Tokyo – a Cape buffalo
When I appear on Ginza Street
I am a male Cape buffalo
I roam the plains of southern Africa
Endlessly seeking fodder
Which I consume faster than most African herbivores
Due to my wide row of incisor teeth
And deft tongue
My coat is dark brown, and
I have a set of majestic horns
Called a ‘boss’
They come together in front
To form a protective shield
My temper is unpredictable
And I cannot be tamed
Except when I appear on Ginza Street
Here, I assimilate
Becoming one with the local culture
I evolve into a showpiece
Wearing Joseph’s coat of many colours
My heavy front and wide hooves reduce
My boss erodes, shrinking as I conform
With bowed head and downcast eyes
There is no need to fear me
When I appear on Ginza Street
***
I am a male bush elephant
I wander the savannahs of Africa
Relentlessly grazing
The world’s largest land mammal
I uproot massive trees
Stripping them of their leaves and bark
Leaving behind much devastation
I use my large, curved incisors
Known as tusks
To dig, communicate, and for defense
My thick hide is grey
But I cover it with mud
The colour of the surrounding earth
I am dangerous when provoked
Except when I appear on Ginza Street
When I’m on Ginza Street
I must blend in with my surroundings
And acquire an arty look and feel
My skin becomes dappled
Resplendent in a variety
Of colours and shapes
My tusks diminish
Choosing obscurity
Along with my honey coloured eyes
There is no need to stand back
When I make my appearance
On Ginza Street
This was some other street art we saw on Ginza Street:
Picture caption: Woman dressed in yellow with a large shopping bagPicture caption: Woman smartly attired, out for a day’s shoppingPicture caption: A multi-coloured collage of different objects of interest
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