Perfect gentleman
Bad day at Slate Creek

A bardnelle on art

WARDLEY BARRYWARDLEY BARRY

An entry in the 2016 Crocodile Prize

Art is a gift of the gods to mankind,
A wee amusement to keep him happy,
Lest he knowing his vainness lose his mind.

To make sense of this divine entropy,
Paint a picture of what they left behind.
Man must drink his own futile therapy,

Art’s an incense we burn to gods we fear:
The Divine, the Dead, and above all Death,
Who through its unreserved love abides near.

Between birth and death, art extends our breath
Toward the bliss of heaven, though not clear.
Dreams, beautiful on paper, invite Death.

What is an artist but a scared preacher,
Babbling fugitive immortality,
As steps of Death ring louder and louder?

We’re illusions we make of reality.
The finer the art, to death, the closer
— We die with pictures of eternity.

Lest he knowing his vainness lose his mind,
Man must drink his own futile therapy.
Who through its unreserved love abides near,

Dreams, beautiful on paper, invite Death.
As steps of Death ring louder and louder,
We die with pictures of eternity.

Art is a gift of the gods to mankind.

__________

A bardnelle is a blend of the villanelle and terzanelle forms with which I’m experimenting.

My parents were from the Eastern Highlands but I was born and bred in East New Britain. I'll be 28 on 1 August.

I began writing poetry in Grade 5. I went through to Grade 12 at school but was not able to make it to university. However, that hasn't stopped me from scribbling my crazy thoughts on pieces of paper.

Apart from poetry, I like classical music and rugby league. I’m now enrolled at Pacific Adventist University studying theology.

Comments

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Vikki John


"Could This Be Love"

If you only knew
What I've been going through
Waiting and wanting you
Could this be love
How, tell me how will I know
Will my heart make me believe it so
Or can I trust the way I feel
If you could read my mind
You see how hard I've tried
Still I can't decide

[CHORUS:]
If you only knew
What I've been going through
Waiting and wanting you
Could this be love
Oh, tell me could this be love

[SOLO:]
Do you know if it's true
That real love lasts a lifetime
Does it shine like the stars up in the sky
And do you know if you can fall for
Just a moment
Is a moment for all time
Why, why am I so unsure
Is that love knocking at my door
Or the sound of my beating heart
If you could read my mind
You know I just can't hide
What I feel inside

[CHORUS]

Oh, tell me could this be love

Michael Dom

A shining villanelle. A worthy use of the gift.

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