18 Comments
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Abigail's avatar

This is brilliant, you guys! I need to sit with it so I can leave a comment good stuff like this deserve, but I snatched a minute to read it in my crazy morning and wanted to say how much I enjoy this collab.

Claire Adderholt's avatar

thank you Abigail!!! you're such a excellent, attentive reader and encourager!

A. A. Kostas's avatar

Thanks Abigail! You are always such a faithful support to Waymarkers. Glad this brought you some enjoyment in your hectic schedule.

May His face shine upon you.

Deer Girl's avatar

Mutual dreaming in action.

A. A. Kostas's avatar

straight up. we should do a dreamy surrealist fiction collab sometime dg

Jennifer Wagner's avatar

Phenomenal work you two! Gorgeous.

Claire Adderholt's avatar

thank you Jennifer! so appreciate you reading and I"m so glad you enjoyed :)

A. A. Kostas's avatar

Thanks Jennifer, glad you enjoyed and thanks for sharing with others.

Jane Campbell's avatar

These are both stunning and the creative and thought provoking use of language reminds me a lot of Gerard Manley Hopkins

A. A. Kostas's avatar

Well that's a very high compliment indeed! Thank you for reading

Bethany Peck's avatar

These are absolutely lovely! Beautiful and inspiring ☀️

A. A. Kostas's avatar

Why thank you Bethany, that means a lot!

Kimberly Phinney's avatar

Love this! Brilliant.

A. A. Kostas's avatar

Thank you Kimberly. Your opinion means so much to me!

Are you a fan of art-poems?

Rosa Lía Gilbert's avatar

Love to see it. Two incredible poets woking together. And two incredible poems as the result!

I love how you explored the light in everything (cells, the most intimate part of our physical beings). I was also moved by the part in Claire's poem in which she wrote about the possibility of a world without sunlight, but God chose the alternative.

I'm glad he created light, embedded it in our being, and chose not to leave us spiritually in the dark!

A. A. Kostas's avatar

Thanks Rosa, appreciate your support and your insightful comments. I'm glad for the light as well!

Mike Rizzio's avatar

A little late in getting here but well worth the visit. Artistic Light is in relationship to Mystic Sight as the the lower right side chamber of our 'heart' relates to upper one. Science and Theology are the other chambers. MAST is an acronym that serves to "fresh out" a subject with the Fullness of Truth. These two poems are a great witness. Thank you.

I wrote this poem maybe 15 years ago.

Drawn and Quartered

by Mike Rizzio

Four chambers, but one purpose,

Four Gospels live to tell,

A Sacred Heart, so wounded,

A lance launched straight from hell.

Our brokenness, bloodletting,

True Mystics judged insane,

King Science, throne ascending,

To deaden all our pain.

Four riders, on four horses,

Steeds rearing for a treat,

Our corpse, nears rigor mortis,

For Art not Science meet.

But wait...a ray of His Glorious Sonshine...

One part—sacred theology,

One part—mystic sight,

One part—true science,

One part—creative light.

...and if ever two lungs breathed forth,

East-West, air that is sweet,

Aloft they'll send His Body,

Heartbeat, Heartbeat, Heartbeat.

Simon Donohoe's avatar

Sigh... another pair of poems that make me realise that I really don't know what I'm doing when I write poetry.

These are both gorgeous, congratulations on the collaboration.