9 Comments
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Rea de Miranda's avatar

No peace on this earth since then.

Janie Braverman's avatar

Ooooof. Is that a play on Tim O'Brien's book? It certainly pulled me back around to his book.

Josh Datko's avatar

It is yeah. At the end, we can only take what we carry I think.

I find some strength and inspiration in what “Adam” is doing here. Allowing the grief to be recognized but at the same time, moving forward. For me, it is a nice reminder of what I should be trying to “carry” in this crazy time and my responsibilities as a father.

So I left the title there as a more subtle reference. I originally had called it “refugees” but thought that would trip things up more.

Thanks, Janie. For the close read.

Brother Rob's avatar

Loved this. Did the painting inspire the poem or was it the other way?

Josh Datko's avatar

The painting. I am in a bit of a Korzhev phase at the moment. I’ll have to a summary post when I explore more of his paintings.

Brother Rob's avatar

Nice, Josh stepping into the ekphrastic poem game too! Looking forward to the post

James Hart's avatar

Great pairing of words and image. We've been searching ever since.

Josh Datko's avatar

Yeah. It’s a powerful painting. An art critic described it as “he carried the thing that matter most to him — his wife.”

Jon Murphy's avatar

Deep