“I clawed you out of clay, ingrata…” (Painting “Renacimiento” by Isabel Hermano)
Clay Baby
I clawed you out of clay ingrata;
you were the first lost grail
on the bottom of the well,
nebulous, unborn,
a golden nugget, caked in mud,
only living in my mind.
I passed you my secrets of heaven,
warned about the fast track to hell,
and shared the arcane,
even some knowledge of the angels.
I gave you eyes..to see creation, which was my point,
in all of this.. creating recreating creation.
I hope you did not misunderstand.
Why create if no one’s there to see it?
Is not the reward of creation,
just one true appreciation?
Now you can do that too,
build worlds from dreams
and half formed visions.
Don’t be ungrateful,
I gave you all the tools,
Clay baby.
So stop trying to know what I know.
There are just some things not meant
for children who play in dirt to understand.
You have done so well, yet failed
in your compassion.
Maybe there’s still time to get it right.
Don’t take for granted one more sunset,
one more birth, or one more death, or tide.
I know you wish to know some more,
but secrets keep you going.
Stop playing my role,
and when you see the world around you
bright and pungent, strange and ever-changing,
just take a minute out and let me know.
From your birth you were endowed
to be the spoiled prodigal of it all.
Find, your medium, find your love and try to find your place.
I watch you sleep, I am always The Always Awake…
Clay baby.
Karima Hoisan
August 23rd 2013
Costa Rica
Digital Rabbit Hole 
Footnote: Sometimes poems have a mind of their own. This one did.
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Dear Kari,
Nice to come home today and find this to read. I found it thought provoking, mysterious, and with your classic style of cadence of that runaway muse that carries the images and story along. What’s the story; for our imaginations, eh? Lovely, Lovely one.
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Hey Luna..yes. I think it’ safer to leave it up to your imagination…all interpretations both micro and macro are welcome:) It began with the first line, then sat a few days until it finally spilled out…onto the mud:) Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it:)
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Mmmmm, I did enjoy this one sis. It’s sensual,rhythmic and has an underlying pulse which pulls at something deep inside. Thank you for letting your poem emerge into the light.
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Thanks sis…this is a weird poem, and how it was born(as I mentioned above) was even stranger. Sometimes a line will come into my mind, that I know..will act as a trigger for a poem. I am almost 90% right, when I feel that feeling,”this could be a poem” Sometimes a week will go by before I write it, but when the time is “right” it comes quite quickly., ike it has some urgency to be put finally onto paper.. I never thought about its sensuality, but yes, I think you are right, there is a bit of that in the rhythm. Thanks for this great comment and for finding the path to my blog (big smiles)
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Wow! This is great! On many many levels. With the biggest question of all: Whats the meaning of Life? One key is the free will. And really, I want to know:) and yes we were given eyes to see and also to see whats behind the things.
Sometimes we are like children, maybe we are in the childhood of mankind.
I have to sort my thoughts. And that is what makes your poem so great! Enigmatic but universal.
Between every line: Who we are? Where do we come from? Where do we go? And much more
Hugs
Nat
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Nat! Wow your words and thoughts on this one, are very inspiring, as you see the poem on many levels..and now that I step back a bit from the process, I do too:) Free will..that is a big mouthful to think about for sure! and I like your statement that we are given eyes to see what is behind the things,..”Childhood of mankind” love that expression, but then we should not be allowed to play with explosives anymore..We have a tendency to blow things up…Thank you for your comment, and so glad you feel the universality inside the enigmatic voice.(a voice, that I never write in by the way:)
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That is wonderful… The words make me smile, and then in the meaning there is all that meditation on creativity, gratitude, the relationship of the human and the divine… / goes back to squishing toes in the mud. 🙂
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Thank you dale…your comment just made me smile too…indeed mud-squishing between toes should be prescribed periodically, to help us remember where we all came from. This poem, started as one thought, and wound up finishing as another…personally..I love when that happens..puts me in my place about the writing process, much which is not entirely under our conscious control. Thank you for this inspiring comment dale.. now go back to your toes in mud:)
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I read your wonderful poem about the same time I read this article on consciousness: http://www.aeonmagazine.com/being-human/how-consciousness-works/
We as a species became aware of the divine when we became aware of ourselves. Creators ourselves, we give a certain consciousness to our own creations. Whether we are imitators of a greater power, or attribute our own actions to it, the message is the same, like you say in your peom: appreciate all these creations and beings.
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Thank you for you comment Scottius. I am so glad you enjoyed the poem, and I also read that article.What can I say? I am a poet not a scientist, so I really believe i have that “squirrel living in my head”( see article) and it would be very hard for Science to prove I didn’t:) I doubt I would ever write another poem, if I thought the desire to, came from some strange brain-self delusions. I did enjoy reading it however, and happy to see you got my message on it all:)
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There is a kind of self-consciousness when you write of objects or concepts imbued with life and fate, that I find truly endearing. It is as if you too are in awe. So we stand together looking at what you have done again, and I am more content.
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Rosedrop…I Am in awe! I think the day I lose that, my poetry would either shrivel up and die, or sound like a hacking cough in a windowless room. I hope to never lose it…Thank you poet for leaving me your thoughts and always your support of what I do.
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Dear Karima,
thank you deeply for using once again my painting to accompany your poetry. As I said to you, I feel so honored ! I shared my thoughts about this spectacular work with you, a few days ago and it seems almost impossible for me now to retrieve those words……because I had been emotionally stirred after reading it to an enormous extent. The message for me is crystal clear, was it from the very first sentences, and the subtle threatening made me shiver. I don `t want to believe in such a creator,…….selfish, dominating, vain and depreciatory. This poem is so brutally honest and unsettles us. This is exactly what art has to do !!! One of your best works, my dear *****
Abrazo
Isa
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Thank you Isabel.. first for sharing your wonderful talent with us, which has inspired numerous poems on their own for me, and also like in this case, just seemed the perfect fit. We talked about how this poem could be “dangerous” but we both laughed too. I think there are many interpretations, and yours is a new fresh one, seen through your very sensitive eyes and expressed honestly and clearly. In the end yes it could be about a Creator talking to its creation, and that could be on many levels, including how we bring life to our own avatars and how sometimes they too disappoint us. I agree with you that Art should be a bit provocative, in that hopefully it elicits as many different responses as viewers who contemplate it.There is no one way to see Art which is what makes it so wonderfully human , and if it provokes thought and meditation..well…even better. Thank you for saying you think it is one of my best, and thank you for sharing, how it provoked you..and allowing your beautiful painting to take part in the process:) Big hugs to you always,
Karima
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I have returned to your beautiful blog after my summer’s hiatus to discover a treasure of words and phrases that only one person could conjure. Returning to find these fine poems is like coming upon a tide pool after a salty, stormy ocean rain. There is no end to the treasures one can find.
I love that you put words to this age old theme of mankind being molded from clay. Prometheus molded humans out of mud and Athena breathed life into them, Now you have enhanced this theme with the powers that be telling us to delve into, and consider the gifts and miracles that we have been given. Was it really a dream that brought this forth? A vision? Perhaps you were asked to write this poem. You are a treasure Miss Karima! Truly! Siempre, su humilde admirador.
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Big smiles, as I have missed your comments Hoyt. Summer pulls you far away from the virtual/digital and RL calls to you like a siren from a rock. I Do understand:) but it is very nice to see you back…and commenting! I have missed them, and this one above is a good example why:) Thank you for the deep appreciation you have always had for my poetry, and yes, this one was born from the very first line which, when I heard myself say it, knew somehow, someway, it would be a poem..just wasn’t sure what it would be about;) Even after writing it, I was still not so sure, but, I have enjoyed everyone’s comments on what it could mean. Thank you ruco..for your beautiful one:) Welcome back to my blog!
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