Symbolic Romance: A Gustave Moreau Painting or Odilon Redon Lithograph by Steven McCabe
by Steven McCabe
Information is a jewel encrusted codpiece
Worn by a eunuch on his death bed
In the hands of the wrong person revealing everything
In the hands of the right person revealing impotence
The wheels roll and plants grow
A man and a woman approach one another
Diamonds nick a valve in my heart and I wake to find you
Dressing me with misinformation
from my collection Jawbone (Ekstasis Editions, 2005)
poemimage 
Words and images tightly and powerfully interwoven. Would really like to know if Moreau or Redon?…Great post Steven…
Thank you John. I think the idea was to get a textural glimpse of Moreau & Redon. Perhaps Moreau more in the poetic images and Redon in the face of the main visual protagonist. The drawing came years after the poem. A happy accident they fit together.
That is a fantastic and intricate drawing. I’m wondering how large it is in its original form?
Thank you Karen. I just went and measured. The framed drawing has a mat window of 11″ X 16.5.” On the paper, if you drew a rectangle, the drawing would fit into a 15.5″ X 9.5″ space. The original title was ‘When the Wind Was the Night.’ From an exhibition of 66 ink drawings (& silent video) called ‘A Cathartic Document’ in 2011.
Love your drawings.
Thanks very much!