Balanced On the Edge

Camino de Santiago

Detail of a Collage

I ended up skipping a yoga class to make a collage and write a poem.

The collage centers around Emily Dickinson, but the poem is more about my desire for a return to innocence. In a way, Emily Dickinson represents for me a kind of purity, both artistically as well as spiritually, a kind of purity or innocence I’ve lost.

Sent from my iPhone

essays and commentary

Published by

Christine

Responses

Dave

August 15, 2009 at 11:33 am

Nice! I saw “The Belle of Amherst” at Penn State last month, a wonderful, kind of postmodern production that slipped back and forth in time and had Emily directly addressing members of the audience – sharing a cake recipe, telling them to sit up straight. The effect was haunting.

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christine

August 15, 2009 at 3:30 pm

I’d love to see that play, Dave. It sounds like you bought into the dream.

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Jo

August 15, 2009 at 3:39 pm

This is lovely. How large is it?

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Michelle Johnson

August 15, 2009 at 5:26 pm

Great collage. Sometimes I think about a return to the innocent days but then I’d miss to much of what I have now. Hope all is well. Have a great night.

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Bob Wood

August 15, 2009 at 8:20 pm

You don’t rate a Scarlet A in the loss of innocence category and I’d have to take your word for it to let you slip by with a B-. 😉

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christine

August 16, 2009 at 6:43 pm

It’s a small collage, Jo, about ten by ten inches.

Michelle, I know what you mean. In general, life is good.

Thanks for the grade, Bob.

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Michelle

August 17, 2009 at 11:42 am

It’s a lovely collage, C.

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ybonesy

August 17, 2009 at 9:01 pm

I saw this on Facebook and loved the image. Now I know a little more about what it represents. I wonder if innocence is related at all to the notion of beginner’s mind and a desire to return to that state. Just curious.

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Julie

August 19, 2009 at 11:28 am

Beautiful! I love the collage. I used to cringe when I looked back at the poems or stories I wrote when I was a teenager. Now it makes me feel good. I like that person. I wish I could physically go back in time and tell “her” what a good person she really was. I tell the teens and kids I know now. By listening to them, I regain some of that innocence and wonder as a poet.

Great topic, Christine. You always get my wheels turning:)

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JC

August 21, 2009 at 6:33 pm

I love this! Will you hang it in your office when you start teaching comp?

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