Maureen Sherbondy

The Artist

I wanted to paint like my older brother.
I created sienna swollen-thick lines
on canvas. Thin attempts
at cadmium yellow fruit in failed
crimson half-circular bowls, then
on to cartoonish suns and moons.
 
All symbols for what I desired
to know and show to others. I cried
when turpentine fumes sent me
into a spell of dizzy confusion
away from the brush and oil paints.
 
Now through words instead, I am
still trying to invoke the sun
and moon as I lie down, stare at glowing
unattainable figures. All metaphors at best.
While my brother has conjured his forests so real,
he has wandered off the canvas edge
and become lost inside the painted woods.



--
Maureen Sherbondy lives in Durham, North Carolina. Her latest book of poetry is BELONGINGS. Her work has appeared in American Judaism, Calyx, The Stone Canoe, and other journals. She teaches English at Alamance Community College in Graham, North Carolina.