THE ROSE
THE ROSE
© Beverly Dahlen 2013 Cover Image: Jay DeFeo, “The Rose”, 1958-66 (detail); oil with wood and mica on canvas; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of The Jay DeFeo Trust, Berkeley, CA, and purchased with funds from the Contemporary Painting and Sculpture Committee and the Judith Rothschild Foundation; © 2013 The Jay DeFeo Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, photo: Ben Blackwell
LRL little red leaves textile editions www.littleredleaves.com
© Beverly Dahlen 2013 Cover Image: Jay DeFeo, “The Rose”, 1958-66 (detail); oil with wood and mica on canvas; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of The Jay DeFeo Trust, Berkeley, CA, and purchased with funds from the Contemporary Painting and Sculpture Committee and the Judith Rothschild Foundation; © 2013 The Jay DeFeo Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, photo: Ben Blackwell
LRL little red leaves textile editions www.littleredleaves.com
The Rose A Poem by Beverly Dahlen
little red leaves textile series 2013
The Rose A Poem by Beverly Dahlen
little red leaves textile series 2013
the rose is and is not [not a rose]
radiant centered
[the barest trace of light] silent
[1]
the rose is and is not [not a rose]
radiant centered
[the barest trace of light] silent
[1]
buried not to be seen [obscene]
matter prima materia
the gray clouds clods boulders from which it arises
[2]
buried not to be seen [obscene]
matter prima materia
the gray clouds clods boulders from which it arises
[2]
ex poses ex ploses ex plodeses ex pires spires dires dares ex parts forms deforms
[ 3]
ex poses ex ploses ex plodeses ex pires spires dires dares ex parts forms deforms
[ 3]
light not white drawn out of the center an
apocalypse
the sudden beginning ex nihilo
not nothing no
[4]
light not white drawn out of the center an
apocalypse
the sudden beginning ex nihilo
not nothing no
[4]
there is light in matter a revelation a turning layer on layer of light at the center of earth
unfolding
[an excavation] [a body]
[not a body]
[5]
there is light in matter a revelation a turning layer on layer of light at the center of earth
unfolding
[an excavation] [a body]
[not a body]
[5]
untilling its plodding girth its heavy aw ful struck stuck intricate growth goutful some sub lime some ugly thing thing thing thin ing
[6]
untilling its plodding girth its heavy aw ful struck stuck intricate growth goutful some sub lime some ugly thing thing thing thin ing
[6]
compressed light
silver sliver splinter thorn guardian adored adoring
abonded abandoned buried [again]
[7]
compressed light
silver sliver splinter thorn guardian adored adoring
abonded abandoned buried [again]
[7]
death rose
immortal rose mortal rose the stink of dying roses black at the heart
hedged edged etched each petal browning
failing falling the invisible worm
[8]
death rose
immortal rose mortal rose the stink of dying roses black at the heart
hedged edged etched each petal browning
failing falling the invisible worm
[8]
flying
in the dark at last rose arose in a window above an altar in a ina ina ina
church
[9]
flying
in the dark at last rose arose in a window above an altar in a ina ina ina
church
[9]
ghastly ghostly acid light
saved light
bright burnt burning tree
[light]
[burnt already] a rose by another name [star] [diamond]
[death star]
[10]
ghastly ghostly acid light
saved light
bright burnt burning tree
[light]
[burnt already] a rose by another name [star] [diamond]
[death star]
[10]
sacred [sacrificial] star dark star im ploded
wrenched bent jagged black beyond black the end [the ends] of light
alpha & omega
[11]
sacred [sacrificial] star dark star im ploded
wrenched bent jagged black beyond black the end [the ends] of light
alpha & omega
[11]
a transformation the shell of “The Rose” in whose heart earth burnt out
[12]
a transformation the shell of “The Rose” in whose heart earth burnt out
[12]
For Jay DeFeo’s “The Rose”
For Jay DeFeo’s “The Rose”
A native of Portland, Oregon, Beverly Dahlen has lived and worked in San Francisco for many years. Her first three books were republished by Little Red Leaves Editions in 2012; parts of her long open-ended work called A Reading have been published over the years by various presses. Her current writing project is titled A Reading: The Calendar. Beverly Dahlen is a recipient of a 2013 Grants to Artists Award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts in New York.
This little red leaves textile series chapbook was designed and sewn by Dawn Pendergast in Houston, Texas.
A native of Portland, Oregon, Beverly Dahlen has lived and worked in San Francisco for many years. Her first three books were republished by Little Red Leaves Editions in 2012; parts of her long open-ended work called A Reading have been published over the years by various presses. Her current writing project is titled A Reading: The Calendar. Beverly Dahlen is a recipient of a 2013 Grants to Artists Award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts in New York.
This little red leaves textile series chapbook was designed and sewn by Dawn Pendergast in Houston, Texas.