PoIesis is etymologically derived from the ancient Greek term ποιέω, which means "to make". This word, the root of our modern "poetry", was first a verb, an action that transforms and continues the world. Neither technical production nor creation in the romantic sense, poietic work reconciles thought with matter and time, and man with the world.
This column presents the poetry of Kurt Cole Eidsvig, in juxtaposition to the dialogue around art and culture also featured at Big RED & Shiny.
PICASSO ON COCKTAIL NAPKINS
If you’ve ever been in an airplane during a rainstorm
you know the importance of color and light
when your toes touch ground again. You might
want to mix a drink with thunder or mascara—
but I just want to keep your unwashed glass
on my nightstand until I remember the phone number
you drew in my pocket. As after drinking scotch,
or brandy and cream, all the faces in this North Beach
bar become the same Picasso-blue and tight in eyeball
frames, and every new phone number I collect
from a pretty girl is just a piece of Guernica I haven’t
really had the chance to see yet— seeping
into the balled-up cocktail napkin that it rests on.
Read Eidsvig's poem about Picasso's Guernica, This Guernica.
