Works in progress

Work on Lysithea has stalled, as not only did I drop her beautiful box, but I also found myself pondering on how best to present the poem inside the box.  A visit to the Paperchase on Tottenham Court Road, with my good friend Richard, soon put me back on track! 

Lysithea poem

Here's the second poem.  This will accompany the carving in her box.

Lysithea

A box without a lock, lost.

Liminal,

My feet on the sand

Caressed by the waves.

Walking between 

The feathers, fish bones and driftwood,

Stones send stabs of pain through my feet.

Searching the rocks,

Frantic, 

The cliffs raging above me,

I look to the sea.

A box without a lock, lost.

Liminal,

Between the land and the sea,

Sand beneath my feet,

Waves meet my outstretched hands.

Oceanid

I've been working on a few poems with Lysithea as my muse.  Here's my first stab at poetry for, hmm, over 9 years!

Oceanid

Golden brown skin,

Now pallid.

Her voice,

A single silver thread,

Winding around dark rocks.

Searching,

Through seaweed forests,

And dead coral,

Alone.

Based on the idea of the 3000 Oceanids of Greek mythology (Lysithea being one).  Each Oceanid was associated with either a spring, lake, river, sea, flower, or cloud.  Once together and happy, now scattered and broken.   The idea of dead coral came from my memories of snorkelling off the coast of the Dominican Republic, where there are many small coral reefs, slowly dying out through fishing methods and pollution.

Lysithea

Photos of my new lady, Lysithea.  She's finished, and I'm now working on her presentation box.  Part of the inspiration for the story behind her name, is J.M.Waterhouse's evocative artwork, 'A Mermaid', and then following the art trail, Tennyson's poem, 'The Mermaid'.  I'm planning to to a bit more research on Waterhouse and the locations he used for his seascapes, which evoke so many memories of my own seaside walks.

Lysithea; 24.5cm High. 

Lysithea, detail.