The Pigment Tradition

The following poem is inspired by a mirthful and charming poem called pigment rebellion by

ollie burgess

I would like to add my own verse as a complementary response. Though poets may pack away their brushes, hope is not lost, for they nonetheless continue to paint. (I’m sure there’s a painter who’ll have my head for this.)

---

The Pigment Tradition

Body and Soul they fight,
Like Man and taken Wife,
War of attrition in red pastel,
A wrestle to paint the sight.

Word and Meter tussle,
To catch the busy bustle,
Between the canvas and the brush,
And not each other muffle.

The pigment tradition breathes,
With air of please and ease,
And sweetest vapors of pungent color,
Lighten heads and buckle knees.

We write upon the basis,
Of drafting mind’s oasis,
By sketching voice onto our sense;
Ut pictura poesis.