If I Ran From You by Karen Shenfeld
by Steven McCabe
If I ran from you
to Ouagadougou,
I’d hear your voice in
talking drums.
If I ran from you
to Coromandel,
I’d catch your scent off
salted winds.
If I ran from you
to Auxerre,
I’d feel your touch in
blades of grass.
If I ran from you
to the well of Khaba,
I’d see your shape in
whirling djinns.
If I ran from you
to Madurai,
I’d taste your kiss from
banana leaves.
If I ran from you
to Muktinath,
I’d send you my prayers off
spinning wheels.
Karen Shenfeld is a poet and traveller who makes her home in Toronto.
I went to a poetry reading and arrived too late to hear Karen read. Pierre L’Abbe told me about a poem of hers he thought particularly beautiful. I asked her about this poem and she sent it to me. I found the words emotional and evocative, inspiring images infused with a sense of ‘otherness.’ Even another time. Some of the visual ideas I generated began to touch on alchemical themes with hints of a ritual around smoke. Which may be a perfect symbol for longing, or the ephemeral arising from the solid, which isn’t solid at all. I felt the playful promise of the poem as bird-like, flying here and there.
Gorgeous!
Thanks so much Pierre! And thank you for telling me about this poem by Karen.
Thank you so much Steven McCabe for being inspired by my poem to create this stunning collage that pairs your art with my words. For once, I am speechless!
Karen, Very happy you are happy & I guess that’s fantastic for a poet to be momentarily speechless! Thank you for the gift of your words. I really enjoyed doing this!
Yes, gorgeous!
Thank you Karen!
One of your most moving collaborations Steven – everything – your images – Karen’s poem – your description of the source – I’m blown away – thank you…
John, I’m very appreciative to hear your thoughts about this post & everything related and contained and I feel the poem really set the stage for an emotional response which I was happy to visualize. Thank you!
Amazing! Karen is simply put one of my most adored friends and fellow artisans… her poetry is palpable.
What you’ve done is amazing, so blessed to have had this in my morning images and impulse… blessed.
Shared:)
Thank you Hayet and for my part in it I’ll say that I’m very happy to be part of the life of the poem as it ‘ripples’ out into the listening world. Thank you for your thoughts about the images also.
Senimental makes me dream of days gone bye, lost loves and why life is so sweet.
Thank you for this thought Bruce. And all best wishes for days to come.
This is so heartwarming, feelings everyone can relate to. Bittersweet memories.
This is wonderful to hear Utopiandreaming. I’m sure Karen appreciates these thoughts as I do. Thank you very much.