Gestures Simply Slip Out and On by Heather Cadsby
by Steven McCabe
Turtles are very old, have no teeth.
Not lost, never had. Not fearful
of first-person singular.
No turtle turmoil. A reptilian gaze
is fixed on us as you
adjust the focus.
This is our assignment. A singular adventure
to create a life list for ourselves.
Something outside ourselves. Before
we do ourselves in. Copulation
requires an hour underwater.
Aye aye aye.
But the good part is a start.
So get your picture.
We’ll call this one painted
and turn the page
as if that’s all we need
to know it all.
Heather Cadsby is the author of four books of poetry. The most recent book, Could be, was published by Brick Books in 2009. Her poems have appeared in such journals as The Antigonish Review, The New Quarterly, PRISM international and The Best Canadian Poetry in English (2008).
poemimage 
Great images.
Thanks a lot Jennifer. I had great fun creating these images to weave in and around the text. Addressing the ideas as I understood them to be. Glad you like the images.
I really like Heather’s poem, and your images are just beautiful. And a great match.
Thanks a lot Richard. It was great fun doing this. I enjoyed the poem very much too. I can’t tell you how many times I drew turtles for this and yet they simply refused to enter the series of images.
I love the images, Steven. The colors and the textures, the bold lines and shapes.
Thank you Jack. All digital drawing on a tablet.
Gorgeous drawings, Steven! Your ‘scratchy’ mark making makes me think of a woven nest.
Wonderful thought Karen. You’ve taken the image and alchem-ized it.
This is incredible work, Steven and Heather! Beautiful.
Thank you Sheila! And thank you for your visit!
What a gorgeous collaboration! Let’s do another, Steve: this one makes me hungry!