Psalm 11.5, poem by Patrick T. Reardon (Half New Year Poetry Series)

PSALM 11.5
by Patrick T. Reardon

The LORD is mine.
I shall not want.

He maketh me.
He leadeth me.

He restoreth me.
He leadeth me.

Yea, though I walk,
I will fear no evil:
for thou art with
thy rod and thy staff.

Thou preparest.
Thou anointest.
My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness
and I will dwell.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Is there a poem, maybe half-good, in half a great psalm?

IMAGE: “Andean Good Shepherd” by Father John Guiliani, an icon artist known for depicting God and the saints in the faces of Native American peoples. Father Giuliani states, “My intent in depicting Christian saints as Native Americans is to honor them and to acknowledge their original presence on this land.” For more about Father John Guiliani, visit hillstream.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Patrick T. Reardon is the author of the recently published Catholic and Starting Out, available from actapublications. Visit him at patricktreardon.com.

Back Stairs, poem by Thomas R. Thomas

BACK STAIRS
by Thomas R. Thomas 

I remember the Brethren church in LA
where my Mom and Grandma grew up.
 
It was one of those old wooden
churches with back stairs and
an attic to hide in.
 
It was before I started
school, and once a week
Mommy would go to the WMC
and I would sit at her feet,
playing all day with the
same toy. I would explore
those back stairs, and
crawl through the attic.
 
On Sundays Grandma would stand
at the front of the church and
sing solos like an angel, and
I would lay with my head
on Mommy’s breast.
 
I wonder how those beautiful
songs of peace and joy could
come out of her mouth when
inside she was so cold and dark.
 
My mother was captured by
that cold darkness like she
was captured by the cigarettes
that sat in her drawer, and we
never once saw them in her mouth,
years later telling the Doctor in front
of my sister that she never smoked.
Now I hold their hands, and walk
Those stairs, open the attic doors.
We feel the cold rush of air,
And gaze into the shadows.

“Back Stairs” appears in Thomas R. Thomas‘s new collection Five Lines (World Parade Books, October 2013), available at Amazon.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Thomas R. Thomas was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the San Gabriel Valley west of LA. Currently, he lives in Long Beach, California. For his day job, he is a software QA Analyst. He volunteers for Tebot Bach, a community poetry organization, in Huntington Beach. Thomas has been published in Don’t Blame the Ugly Mug: 10 Years of 2 Idiots Peddling Poetry, Creepy Gnome, Carnival, Pipe Dream, Bank Heavy Press, Conceit Magazine, Electric Windmill & Marco Polo, and the Silver Birch Press Summer Anthology. In November 2012, Carnival released his eChapbook, Scorpio, and Washing Machine Press released a chapbooklette called Tanka. In October 2013, World Parade Books published a book of his poetry, Five Lines. Visit the author’s website at thomasrthomas.org.

Photo: “A Staircase in Silhouette Against a Yellow Stained Glass Window” by David Evans. Prints available at art.com.

St. Peter Drops His Pen, New Yorker cartoon by Danny Shanahan

CAPTION: “Damn! God gave me that pen.” 

CREDIT: New Yorker cartoon by Danny Shanahan, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Find New Yorker cartoons at CondeNastStore.com.

Cecilia Gimenez Wants Her Fair Share

It’s been a while since we checked in with Cecilia Gimenez, the 81-year-old amateur art restorer from Borja, Spain — now famous for her botched restoration of her church’s fresco “Ecce Homo.” Cecilia is back in the news. Until now, she has been waiting for the church to slap her with a bill for a professional restoration of the fresco — but the tables have turned.

Her painting is now drawing tourists — and the church is charging for a glimpse of the fresco. Spanish newspaper El Correo reports that Cecilia has sought legal representation to copyright her work and obtain royalties for it.

Judging by the way Cecilia is clutching her wallet in the photo at the top of this post, I’d say she has a good chance of winning. 

Godspeed, Story Poem by Jason Kerzinski

GODSPEED

Story Poem by Jason Kerzinski

Mr. Porres, Mr. Porres, Mor. Porres. Is it okay to call you “Mister”? Or would you prefer Mr. Saint Porres? Have I offended the man who brought mouse, cat, bird, and dog together? That must have been a chore. How did you manage it? Did you tempt those creatures with lasagna? It must have been lasagna. Italian food can unite any group of folks. Lasagna and breadsticks. How stupid of me to leave out the breadsticks. Mouthwatering breadsticks with garlic butter. Did you serve wine? Again, I’m not thinking. Wine, lasagna, and breadsticks can unite a toad and a fox. Have you taken on that task, Mr. Porres? Pack your bags immediately and head for Grimes, Iowa. They have a large population of toads and foxes. I will rent a car for you this afternoon. I will rent you a Ford Taurus so you will remain inconspicuous. Good luck, Mr. Saint Martin de Porres, and Godspeed.

Note: “Godspeed” by Jason Kerzinski was originally published in the New Orleans Review, Volume 33, Number 2.

Andy Warhol and Cecilia Gimenez, Together Again

As mentioned in our August 31st post, the Campbell’s Tomato Soup cans with Warhol-inspired labels are available starting today at Target (yes, the “discount” store). Of those pictured in the photo above, I like the blue and green one best. Target will offer a limited edition of one million cans at 75 cents each.

Not to spoil the party (so I won’t talk about it here), but  readers may wish to check out livestrong.com for a discussion of the ingredients in Campbell’s Tomato Soup. (Anyway, if I buy a Warhol-inspired can of soup from Target, I don’t intend to open it!)

Since we’re discussing Warhol and soup, this post includes another entry in The Cecilia Prize, the contest that honors the good intentions of Cecilia Gimenez — the parishioner from Borja, Spain, who picked up a paint brush and tried (that’s the operative word) to restore “Ecce Homo,” a flaking fresco of Christ on the wall of her church. This Warhol-inspired entry, Ecce Soup, was created by Twitter @ewajoan.

Cecilia Gimenez and Andy Warhol’s Portrait of Marilyn Monroe

Today, we’re featuring another entry (at right) from The Ceclia Prize contest — this one by Twitter @srqu, who has created a triple triptych in the colors and style of Andy Warhol. (See below for Warhol’s triple triptych — is there a word for this? — of Marilyn Monroe.)

As most readers know, The Cecilia Prize honors Cecilia Gimenez, the amateur art restorer who has gained international attention by trying to repair a fresco of Christ’s face on the wall of the local Catholic church in Borja, Spain. A gallery of Cecilia Prize entries is available here. 

On our blog, we are only featuring entries inspired by the work of esteemed artists — to date, Rene Magritte, Leonardo da Vinci, and Andy Warhol.

Cecilia Gimenez and Mona Lisa

As we mentioned yesterday, Cecilia Gimenez — the octogenarian who botched a fresco restoration at a Catholic church in Borja, Spain — continues to inspire creativity across the globe. People are saying to themselves, “If she’s an artist, so am I!” To give this burgeoning talent pool an outlet for artistic expression, some people (I’m assuming they’re British because of the way they spell “honour”) have set up The Cecilia Prize — for “all the fixers out there,” as the website states.

Included in this post is another fine entry, Ecce Mona (by Twtter @psycher0s). As an art history refresher, we will remind readers that Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci some time between 1503 and 1506. Leonardo created what is now probably the world’s most famous painting in oil on a poplar panel. It is now on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

A friend once told me that when she’d visited the Louvre, she was disappointed at the Mona Lisa because “it was so small.” When my turn to see the painting in person finally arrived, I knew what to anticipate. I remember the room was crowded and no photos were allowed. Somehow, I wedged my way to the front of the onlookers. Seeing the Mona Lisa is like most other lifetime milestones — something you never forget. And, for the record, here are the painting’s dimensions: 77 cm x 53 cm, or 30 inches x 21 inches.

Cecilia Gimenez Finds New Venue for Good (Art) Works

Before her art restoration at the Sanctuary of Mercy Church was rudely interrupted by local officials in Borja, Spain, Cecilia Gimenez, 81, intended to repair the neglected 19th century fresco to work off some her Purgatory time. Let’s face it, at Cecilia’s advanced age, she thinks about such things — thinks about them a lot!

Now, Cecilia has found a new way to apply her artistic talents — and do good works that will shave away some time in the fiery furnace. (Note for Non-Catholics: Purgatory is like hell — only temporary.) She has volunteered at a Spanish tattoo parlor (see below), where she has agreed to tattoo images of winged beings onto the assorted and sundry body parts of the unholy unwashed.

Cecilia thought this penance would be akin to the Lord washing the apostles’ feet, but so far it hasn’t worked out that way. To date, she has not felt a sublime union with the divine — but has only experienced an endless barrage of ridiculous requests for unnameable creatures and obscene sayings.

When she offered to draw winged creatures on the tattoo parlor patrons, she thought she would be inking in angels, cherubs, and even an archangel or two. Instead, she’s faced with persnickety customers who expect her to recreate intricate drawings of Pegasus and every last flying demon from the Inferno.

Cecilia has decided to keep the gig until she figures out another way to do penance through good works.

Photo: 9gag.com

Cecilia Gimenez Tells Art Critics Where to Go

Cecilia Gimenez, 81, still doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about — and has no idea why news outlets around the world are criticizing her handiwork. (The arbiters of taste don’t like the way she restored a 19th century fresco of  Christ on the wall of her church in Borja, Spain.) But she knows her work is excellent — no matter what the elitists say.

After all, didn’t an early critic call Henri Matisse‘s work, “A pot of paint thrown in the face of the public”? Didn’t the art world call Picasso‘s cubist paintings “devilish and insane”? Didn’t they call Dali‘s surrealist works “deranged”? Cecilia feels that these examples — and many more  she won’t bother to cite — prove that the art elite don’t know the real thing when they see it.

But there was one art critic who understood — Clement Greenberg, who said: “All profoundly original art appears ugly at first.” So there!

Despite all the media attention, Cecilia found time to apply her craft to an Andy Warhol masterwork — his portrait of Marilyn Monroe (below). (For the uninitiated, Cecilia Gimenez’s version is on the right.) When asked why she had selected this particular painting for her next effort, Cecilia responded that she’s long been an admirer of the American icon and for years has modeled her hairstyle on the deceased blonde’s locks.