He glows with bliss,
with an innate passion
for perfection.
Pressing fingers,
his caressing hand lingers,
a blessing on the wax sole
of her right foot.
Repeating movements endlessly
does not destroy the spontaneity,
the joy in recreating every day
a corps de ballet.
Kim M. Russell, 2017
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Quadrille: Bliss
Bjőrn is our host for the Quadrille this Monday and the word is ‘bliss’.
My poem was inspired by an article about the upcoming Degas centenary exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and by Degas’ sculpture of a ‘Dancer Looking at the Sole of her Right Foot’. According to the article, Degas left fingerprints on his wax sculptures so clear it’s possible to gauge his age, posture and weight at the time of creation.
Oh I love the thought of leaving your fingerprints… there is something so special about sculpture. I went to a Rodin exhibition, and I seem to remember that kind of traces left by him too.
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Any traces on a piece of art are spellbinding 🙂
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The perfect balance 🙂
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🙂
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I love the passion and dedication in this, especially ‘Repeating movements endlessly does not destroy the spontaneity’ :o) xxx
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Thank you, Xenia! I think everyone repeats to a certain extent without destroying spontaneity – unless, of course, they have OCD! 🙂
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I think that depends on the severity of the condition within the individual and the support this person is receiving. Some people with OCD are actively encouraged to surrender to spontaneity to help them step out of rituals they have created.
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True.
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Gosh so could people work out my weight from a fingerprint? Meanwhile a very beautiful poem-and what dedication a dancer has to have. XX
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Thank you, Alison. Apparently it has something to do with the pressure of the fingers.
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I love this – puts me in mind of a killer foot rub. I like that bit about Degas leaving such clear fingerprints in his works. I liked this poem even more on the second read.
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Yes! That’s exactly what I was thinking! 🙂
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🙂
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🙂
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Do you and your hubby do that for each other? We are big on dual foot-rubbing, and movie-watching, over here. 🙂
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I wished! 🙂
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🙂
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Thank you, Toni! It makes me happy that you read poems several times.
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I do! I read every poem several times to get the full impact of it. Just once creates an initial response but to my mind reading a poem several times gives the whole experience. Of course, I don’t always read every poem several times, some of them I am content to read once and then leave it.
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Very creative use of the quadrille. I used to sketch & paint some, but I always envied sculptors–their work in three dimension expands art to new heights.
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When we were in Paris we went to the Rodin Museum and walked in the garden – sublime.
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How beautiful. I feel like I am peeking into an artist’s studio.
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Thank you, De 🙂
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“a blessing on the wax sole
of her right foot”
The closing and this are my favorites. Plus the sole/soul suggestion.
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Thanks Shawna!
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I love the “signature” of the artist work ~ And yes, the joy of perfecting those ballet movements ~
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I’m definitely going to that exhibition – I want to get up very close and see the fingerprints for myself 😉
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Enchanting dip into the world of Art. Very visual representation and the sculpture at the end was like a huge exclamation point. Impressionistic art of Degas, seeps into your poem.
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Thank you, Victoria!
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It’s like Degas hands are dancing in his creation. You made it come alive!
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Thank you so much, Walter!
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Lovely and I also liked the follow up comments. What a cool thing to do – leave a print on each creation.
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Thank you, Margaret. I plan to visit that exhibition when it opens in October.
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‘joy in recreating’ Bliss is here.
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Thank you, Sumana.
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Your description of the sculptor shares his very Pygmalious fervour. Exquisite. Wonderful sculpture too.
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Thank you, Colin.
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Nothing as sensuous as sculpting in clay, unless it’s sculpting in wax. Just lovely, Kim.
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Thank you, Sarah.
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The dance is bliss!
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A wonderful piece from a great piece of inspiration!
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Thank you so much!
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Brava.. 😎😎😎🥀🥀🥀
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Thanks Dorna!
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Soooo late to the reading — apologies! Grandkids with us from Sunday til last night.
I’ve seen some of the Degas sculptures and did not know this about him. A wonderful use of the word “bliss.” And how fascinating to learn this. hmmmm we also leave our “fingerprints” on the page with our scripts and thoughts….I suspect though, that unlike Degas, my bazillions of journals will be tossed when I am gone and my thoughts shall go up in smoke unto the heavens as I hope my spirit does 🙂
Wonderful write, Kim!
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Thank you, Lillian! 🙂
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Great piece of creativity ..
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Thank you!
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Well expressed
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Thank you kindly!
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Marvellous poem
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Thank you very much!
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