Artistic Hands: Two Triolets

Drawing Hands, by MC Escher (Netherlands), 1948.

Artistic Hands: Two Triolets

I.
As clay made flesh, hands left and right
can sense in life the sad and glad
but mad they might clench fists to fight
The clay made flesh, hands left or right
with pens and pixels also write
commingled hands are seldom mad
As clay made flesh, hands left and right
reach the lives of sad and glad
 
And fleshlike clay, hands left and right
can echo life that’s sad or glad
and mime they’re mad, fists clenched to fight
The fleshlike clay, hands left and right
with kiln-fired fingers ghostly white                              
might mesh with flesh with neither mad
And fleshlike clay, hands left and right
echo lives of sad or glad   


II.
As clay made flesh, hands left and right
and fleshlike clay, hands left and right
can sense in life the sad and glad
can echo life that’s sad or glad
but mad they might clench fists to fight
and mime they’re mad, fists clenched to fight
the clay made flesh, hands left or right
the fleshlike clay, hands left and right
with pens and pixels also write
with kiln-fired fingers ghostly white
commingled hands are seldom mad
might mesh with flesh with neither mad
as clay made flesh, hands left and right
and fleshlike clay, hands left and right
can reach the lives of sad and glad
echo lives of sad or glad

Ralph La Rosa

Editor's note: This piece was written in response to the Rattle Magazine Ekphrastic Challenge, August 2016- a work called Clay Hands, by Heshani Sothiraj Eddleston. 
View it at the link below:
http://www.rattle.com/ekphrasis/EC16Aug.jpg


​The poetry of Ralph La Rosa has been published widely in paper and online venues. Recent publications include the chapbook Sonnet Stanzas (Kelsay Books) and full-length Ghost Trees (Kelsay Books).