Painting by Santiago Carbonell

Swept Away

by Gesso Cocteau in Blog

Swept Away

BRONZE  14” x 14” x 8” |  Edition of 25

Table Top

There is a very old poem that inspired this piece.

 

Married Love

 

You and I

Have so much love,

That it

Burns like fire,

In which we put into the fire the clay

Molded into a figure of you

And a figure of me.

Then we take both of them,

And break them into pieces,

And mold again a figure of you,

And a figure of me.

I am in your clay.

You are in my clay.

In life we share a single quilt.

In death we will share one bed.

One of the deepest human yearnings is to connect with another human being. To be inextricably linked to another soul. “The deep desire for love, to be one with another on all levels, crosses all times and boundaries.” It is interesting to note that from ancient times clay has been associated with the human body.

Poem by Kuan Tao Sheng

Poem translated by Kenneth Rexroth

Kuan Tao Sheng lived from 1262 to 1319, she was a Chinese painter best known for her images of nature and her tendency to inscribe short poems on her paintings. 

 

 

Previous Post Next Post

Related Posts

The Owl

The Owl

The Owl   I wanted to find a reason why I disappeared.   Then the owl came  circling my thoughts ___ seducing my mind slowly subtly coming closer.   Perched upon a broken branch, his indifference abstract and imposing revealed my need for meaning, for dark quiet places of intensity.   Sometimes I feel myself dissolving into space, I get smaller and smaller until I no longer exist.   (meanwhile)   ____ the self shaped by desire exposed by my insatiable need moves ever closer to the fire. But nothing will keep us alive.   I dreamt I asked the fates why I was being driven by transitory lust.   (the fates answered)   “Meaning only exists when you are looking for it, it will tempt you like a lover and leave you like a beggar.”   And I thought to myself god, isn’t this what living is? The wanting that feeds you the raging storm that seduces you and always the need for more.   I love the way we hungered for one another the sensuality, the greed and the thirst. Our bodies wrapped in the animalism of urge the predatory talons of infatuation.   Then I realized what nourishes us also destroys us.   I have felt my life unwind like threads, pulling me forward and backward, until it’s hard to put the pieces back together.   Tonight, the gilded owl called out my name, his voice so familiar, his eyes dark and sad.   ___ did you even notice I disappeared?    art and poem © Gesso Cocteau 2025             

Dark Bird

Dark Bird

Dark Bird Why do we reduce reality to one octave,to simplify, to survive?The magnum opus hums just beyond reachof the dark bird’s wingbeat, a secret fracturing the air. The universe sings in undertones,notes lost in the stillness of cravingyet we long for ____something small enough to hold,to press against our soulwhen the silence grows too loud. But the poet knows ____truth lives in the marrow of darkness,in the animal lust of want.To write is to descend,to press a hand to the pulse of shadow,where hunger is raw and unspoken. Underneath, desire is an echo,a body remembering itself,flesh yearning for the myth of touch,primal, unfiltered,like the first fire licking the cave walls,like the stillness before a name is given. We forget the wind carries secrets,that roots hum beneath the soil,that light itself is a chorusspilling gold into morning. But we choose the known,a scale we can master,a pattern we can repeat,fearing the infinite songthat might undo us. And yet,in the pause between heartbeats,in the quiet before ____ the dark bird sings,in the spaces where the music falters,something lingers,an undertone,a world ____waiting.  Gesso Cocteau ©2025    

At the Edge of Fall

At the Edge of Fall

At the Edge of Fall   This is the time when leaves surrender slowly. How beautiful it is to let things go. The air carries a transient light that gilds the darkening sky reminding me of when I was young, standing at the edge of fall.   The elements are swirling together, invisible and weightless ____  a sign of restlessness.   Today, I was thinking about you, how you felt beneath my hands like the colors of autumn, amber and gold.   (You were like the impending winter ____ a note of bittersweet)   When I first sat at the piano I thought I was in love. I bled dark keys into melodies trying to find your heart.   The wild black crow you gave to me has never left my side, you said he was a symbol of my darkness and my dreams.   And the fire of my youth burned fierce and wild.   The ache of your absence remainswoven into the fabric of my being. ____ It seems like a thousand years ago but I can still feel you next to me.   (this is the force of destiny)   Now ____ your death reminds me of this time of year.   I still miss your voice, the way you spoke my name. The way you looked at me from across the room.   This is a testament to you, to love and to those rare moments that slip through time.   I will always be the unfinished poem waiting for you, standing at the  edge of fall.              Poetry and Image © Gesso Cocteau

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.

Home Search Cart Products About