Drawing in Bolsena, or Writing, by Kelly R. Samuels

Untitled (Bolsena), by Cy Twombly (USA). 1969.

Drawing in Bolsena, or Writing  
 
If we take the length
and multiply it by this,
the rectangle, like so.
Not a circle, no, but here it is.
And, too, the scrubbing out,
the dirty eraser.
And then these
random thoughts, numbers,
like the floaters across the eye’s surface
or the contractor’s sonnet.
 
This part of the mind opens
and the hand works, moves across the paper
the color of wet sand, the canvas, the space.
 
Something like automatic writing,
that parlor trick. Here, this, and the downward
slant, trailing off, and the swish
of bell-shaped skirt, tilt of table. Hush.
 
And over here, nothing.

Kelly R. Samuels
​
Kelly R. Samuels lives and works as an adjunct English instructor near what some term the “west coast of Wisconsin.” Her poetry has been nominated for Best of the Net, and appeared online at apt, Off the Coast, Burningword and The Summerset Review.