Monuments

Build another monument
Of hard, glazed marble
As a crutch to hold,
To make bold the sky.
Stand and stare and be
In awe. Bleed astonishment
At the marble marvel
Carefully erected and carved
With greens ever cherished.

Words spoken after chosen
Breed subverted silence
And applause rumbling from
The powerless and perverted.
The hungry nourished,
Opinions for the eager
And heart handshakes
Leave behind respect and love
In all encompassing wakes.

An instinct creative—
Beautiful symmetry explodes
From fingertips loose
To explore the ether,
Reach and grasp firmly
Greens to breathe and buy.
Cannot cause this mind
To turn over—shame
In living; love in living.

Freeze that look upon
Your reverent faces.
Cold like cherished marble
Or warm like inner envy,
Imagine pieces crumbling
That soon shall be rebuilt.
It will come down soon
As seeds for sowing
In soil quite ripe for burning.

 

Photography © Allison Goldin

Photography © Allison Goldin

 

Kevin Sampsel grew up in East Tennessee. He eventually married and settled down in Norfolk, Virginia. His first book of poetry, Vibration and Swaying, was published in 2012.

Allison Goldin is an artist living in California. Her work is a collection of spontaneous drawings from the imagination. The most common link throughout her art are the semi-recognizable creatures scattered amongst and bringing together the surrounding doodles.