I arrived an hour early to work last night - I found a nice piece of paper & a sparkly metalic blue pen & drew this illumination for the Walt Whitman poem "A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown":
But first I bend to the dying lad, his eyes open, a half-smile gives he me,
May 02, 2009
Illumination for Walt Whitman's "A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown"
A route through a heavy wood with muffled steps in the darkness,
Our army foil'd with loss severe, and the sullen remnant retreating,
Till after midnight glimmer upon us the lights of a dim-lighted building,
We come to an open space in the woods, and halt by the dim-lighted building,
'Tis a large old church at the crossing roads, now an impromptu hospital,
Entering but for a minute I see a sight beyond all the pictures and poems ever made,
And by one great pitchy torch stationary with wild red flame and clouds of smoke,
By these, crowds, groups of forms vaguely I see on the floor, some in the pews laid down,
At my feet more distinctly a soldier, a mere lad, in danger of bleeding to death, (he is shot in the abdomen,)
I stanch the blood temporarily, (the youngster's face is white as a lily,)
Then before I depart I sweep my eyes o'er the scene fain to absorb it all,
Surgeons operating, attendants holding lights, the smell of ether, odor of blood,
Some on the bare ground, some on planks or stretchers, some in the death-spasm sweating,
An occasional scream or cry, the doctor's shouted orders or calls,
These I resume as I chant, I see again the forms, I smell the odor,
Then hear outside the orders given, Fall in, my men, fall in;
Resuming, marching, ever in darkness marching, on in the ranks,
The unknown road still marching.
Labels:
art,
Cactana,
illuminations,
poetry,
Walt Whitman
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1 comment:
These figurines remind me a bit of Olaf's college-era "Whale-standing-up" people. Do you have any of those in the archives Mr Mary?
I was hoping the blithe colors would brighten up Whitman's gloomy poem.
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