For George: Parade Street (East), by Bill Arnott

Parade Street (East), by George Dow (UK) Contemporary.

                                      
For George: Parade Street (East)

Canvas, blank, hung at eye height
a whitewashed mirror, mirror
on the wall, reflecting everything
and nothing, what you see
in your mind’s eye, a swirl
of possibility, potential, creativity
who’s fairest, rarest, do we darest?
carry on, acrylic, oil, pastel, pencil
every colour medium
in small and large and extra large
a trumpet sounds, we charge, imagined
battle lines now drawn and sketched
as brushes dip, allow the paint to dry
and tell me what you see, and why
in mirror, mirror, on the canvas
wall, in gentle daubs and slashing strokes
conductor in the pit, a parry-thrust baton
our rainbow orchestra ignites, excites
the sensory, to stimulate like saturday tv
and crazy, crazy tunes in technicolour runes
hurled like thunderbolts from thor, electric
art, eclectic start and finish, finish
every time, again I challenge why, once
that gets answered, every how is nothing more than detail

Bill Arnott

Vancouver author, poet, songwriter Bill Arnott is the bestselling author of Dromomaniaand Gone Viking. His poetry, articles and reviews are published in Canada, US, UK, Europe and Asia. Bill’s column Poetry Beat is published by the League of Canadian Poets and the Federation of BC Writers.