Cross-hatched

This is an ongoing series of poems centering around the book of Genesis. I began it several years ago, and still on occasion attempt to add a poem to it. I have so far made it up to Jacob's betrayal of Isaac and Esau, and am currently working on a poem about Rachel and Leah's marriage to Jacob. I have several more poems to write before the account is complete.

I began posting this series on my personal blog when I first started writing it, but they were lost in the Blogpocalypse of '07 (otherwise known as That Foolish Day I Accidentally Deleted My Blog). So I'll officially kick of this community by posting the first in this series: "Spoken." I consider it the strongest of the pieces, and ironically, it's not really in free verse, since it employs some structure. I welcome any comments or suggestions on the piece.

Command: it flames out into burning,

The formless void knows nothing

Like this brightness, light: separate

From the blackness.

Day/Night.

Command: it splits the waters – a horizontal

Slash, expanse of air and vapor

Miles between. Water above, water beneath.

Sky.

Command: the sea boils, bubbles, soil

Protrudes, sprouts green

Shoot from earth, trunks twist, gyrate, birth

Branches, blossoms, fruit.

Land/Sea.

Command: it explodes in furious gases, burning

Hot, shining forth fire – rocks

Orbit them, shining their light back

In stony, elliptical obeisance.

Stars/Moons.

Command: it flutters feathers against the sky, the sea

Sparkles with scaly luminescence – they rest

On branch and under bank,

Singing and swimming.

Wings/Fins.

Command: it bursts into a cacophony of

Cries, a chorus of bestial jubilance –

Beasts of field and forest frolic

On unspoiled meadows.

Creep/Crawl.

Hand: it reaches from heaven, scoops

The soil, spits, mixes –

It forms shoulders, head, then

Limbs, then, into nostrils:

Breathe Life.

Command: it proclaims exultant

Success, pride, ecstasy in the product

Of its voice – then, beaming,

Rests.

Cross-hatching is something one does when sketching with a pen or pencil to achieve shadow and lighting effects. So in the sense that this is a place devoted to artistry, I chose the name. It calls to mind artistic endeavors. Cross-hatching is a way of contrasting light and dark; it gives life and realism to sketches that would otherwise be two-dimensional shapes on a page. It brings depth and meaning to a picture.

I want this to be a place where our art "cross-hatches" the world around us. Art is meant to reflect truth about the world we live in, to bring into contrast the forces and elements we face on a day-to-day basis. We use our art to contrast light from dark, we use it to give shape and depth and meaning to our lives.

Another reason I chose the name "Cross-hatched" was as a play on words. We are all of us purchased by a cross. We are all of us born again - "hatched," if you will - by Christ's death. We ourselves are Cross-hatched. And our art ought to reflect that fact. It is our faith that gives our lives depth and meaning, and our art ought to reflect the depth and meaning that our faith gives us.

With that said, how do I envision this site working? However we want it to work. Feel free to post anything you wish here: if it's a sample of your work, great; if it's some thoughts related to art of some kind, good; if it's a chart related to the frequency and level of intensity of your toothbrushing, well, fine, if you feel like sharing that.

As you may have noted, I also created a message board, which may be more appropriate for intense critiquing of each other's work, or if you want to share your thoughts more informally. The message board format seems more conducive to free thought than a blog does, and perhaps I'm odd for thinking so. For me, a blog is a place to post more polished pieces of writing, while a message board allows posts without a lot of editing or censoring. So there's a glimpse into my reasoning, at any rate.

So, what are your thoughts?

As I mentioned on Wayfarer, I have long envisioned a community like unto the Rabbit Room or the Inklings where artists (be they musicians, writers, film-makers, sculptors, photographers, etc.) can come together and share their work.

Art's a part of all of us, whether we realize it or not. We're created in the image of a Creator, and in turn we feel a drive to create. That process cannot be complete until it is shared and enjoyed by others as well as yourself, and I hope that this will be a place where we can not only share what we create, but also grow in our creativity and have others enjoy it as well.

How this shall all play out I'm still in the process of figuring out, but you're all welcome to offer suggestions and invite any whom you think may be interested in joining such a community.

I hope, and we shall see how this works, that this will be a success.