To The New Year, W. S. Merwyn, born 1937, American

 

 

With what stillness at last

 

 

 A monarch butterfly, Delaware, summer of 2016

 

 

you appear in the valley

your first sunlight reaching down

 

 

Among the Sierra Nevada, detail, oil on canvas, 1868.  Alfred Bierstadt, 1830-1902, born Solingen, Germany, died New York City.  The Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, DC

 

to touch the tips of a few

 

 

Whispell Road, the Ashokan Catskills, Summer 2014.  The last of the woodsmen lives on this road.  83 now.  We bought his maple syrup which he collected and processed.  So modest and knowledgeable a man.

 

 

high leaves that do not stir

 

 

Poplars on the bank of the Epte River, 1891, oil on canvas.  Claude Monet, 1840-1926, French.  Philadelphia Museum of Art

 

as though they had not noticed

and did not know you at all

 

 

The Giants, 1939, duco (an industrial lacquer) on masonite;  Alfred Siqueiros, 1896-1974, Mexican.  Philadelphia Museum of Art

 

then the voice of a dove calls

 

 

A seagull over the Pacific of the coast of Washington state, 2009

 

 

from far away in itself

 

 

 A Blackbird with Snow-Covered Red Hills, 1946, oil on canvas.  Georgia O’Keefe, 1887-1986, American.  National Gallery, Washington, DC

 

 

Girl with a Dove, 1928, oil on linen.  Marie Laurencin, 1885-1966, French.  National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

 

to the hush of the morning

 

 

Hibiscus in the Morris Arboretum, Philadelphia,  autumn, 2016

 

so this is the sound of you

 

 

George Gershwin in Concert Hall, 1936, oil on canvas.  David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican, 1896-1974, Mexican.  On exhibition in the winter of 2016 at the Philadelphia Art Museum

 

 Grover Washington, Jr. in a wall mural on North Broad Street, Philadelphia by Peter Pagas, 2001, for the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program

 

One of 3 panels of The Argonauts, 1949/50, oil on canvas.  Max Beckmann, 1884-1950, German.  National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

 

Evolution of Swing, lithograph, date unknown. Raymond Steth, 1917-1997, American. On exhibition at the Woodmere Museum of the Art of Philadelphia in 2015

 

Singing a Pathetic Song, 1881, oil on canvas.  Thomas Eakins, 1844-1916, American.  Corcoran Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

 

Marian Anderson speaking with Grace Kelley at the Crystal Ball at the Philadelphia Musuem of Art, April 1963.  Digital print of a photograph of Thomas W. Moseley, 1907-1969, American, on exhibit in 2016 at the Woodmere Museum, Philadelphia

 

Sonata, 1911, oil on canvas.  Marcel Duchamp, 1887-1968, American born France.  Philadelphia Art Museum

 

Portrait of a Woman, oil on canvas, 1757.  Francois Hubert Drouais, 1727-1775, French.  Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY 

 

One of many metal sculptures made by Patrick Amiot and displayed on Florence Avenue, Sebastopol, California, 2009

 

A mural designed by Felix Oseimi and executed in 2006 of Jazz singers. The Philadelphia Arts Mural Program

 

here and now whether or not

anyone hears it

 

 

 Two Together, unknown date.  A digital print by John W. Mosely, 1907-1969, in an exhibition of the work of this photographer at the Woodmere Museum of the Art of Philadelphia and its Region in 2016

 

 

                                                      this is

where we have come with our age

 

 

Ela Bhatt in 2010.  She was born in 1933.  An Ahmedabadi lawyer and Ghandian, in 1972 she set up the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), the largest indigenous Indian NGO which has helped thousands of women and their families to gain their work rights, improve their work conditions, and make a living.

 

 

 Toni Morrison, oil on canvas, 2006.  Robert McCurdy, American, born 1952.  Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, DC

 

 

A sadhu at a shop next to the Triple Gate in the Old City, Ahmedabad, 2010

 

 

Marisol, artist, born 1930, France, polystyrene foam, balsa wood, felt, paper clay, paint, steel and synthetic hair.  Judith Shea, born 1948, American.  Smithsonian Museum of American Art

 

 

A wall painting in the Fairmount Park section of Philadelphia of the linguist and activist, Noam Chomsky, born 1928  in Philadelphia.   A mural now vanished under gentrification.

 

 our knowledge such as it is

 

 

Automotive Industry, and details, 1940, oil on canvas.  Marvin Beerbohm, 1908-1981, Canadian, for the Works Project Administration, Detroit.  Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, DC

 

Wilt Chamberlain, 1936-1999, print of January 1961 by John W. Mosely, 1907-1969, in an exhibition at the Woodmere Museum of the Art of Philadelphia and its Region in 2016

 

 Cat and Bird, 1928, oil and ink on gessoed canvas, mounted on wood.  Paul Klee, 1879-1940.  MOMA, NY

Cats know all about savoir vivre.  This one is telegraphing what he wants to eat next and is not concerned that it is a great artist that he is addressing.  All the better, probably:  a very beautiful fish was given him no doubt.

 

Girl and Cat, c. 1917, oil on canvas.  Marguerite Thompson Zorach, 1887-1968, American.  Philadelphia Museum of Art

Cats know the most important thing:  how to be loved without question.

 

Self-portrait with studio camera, 1932, silver gelatin print.  Man Ray, 1890-1976, American.  On display at The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia in the autumn/winter, 2016

 

 

The Writer, 1925, oil on cardboard.  Manuel Rodriguez Lozano, 1896-1971, Mexican.  Exhibited at the Philadelphia Art Museum in a show about the artists of the Mexican Revolution in the winter of 2016 

 

 Untitled, 2009, acrylic on PVC panel.  Kerry James Marshall, born 1955, American.  On display at a retrospective of the artist’s work at the Metropolitan Museum, NY, winter 2016

 

The Springhouse, 1944, egg tempera on hardboard.  N.C. Wyeth, 1882-1945, American.  Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington

 

Jared Bader design and execution for the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, South Philadelphia, 2008

 

Lotus Temple:  Bahai house of worship in New Delhi.  Completed in 1986 on a design by the architect, Fariborz Sabha.

 

and our hopes such as they are

 

Hope is:  Wanting To Pull Clouds, 1992, polyester resin and acrylic.  Sigmar Polke, 1941-2010.  National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

 

invisible before us

 

 

 The Crystal Gazer, c. 1930 and detail,  oil on canvas.  N.C. Wyeth, 1882-1945, American.  Brandywine Museum, Pennsylvania

 

 

untouched and still possible

 

A Meri-Meri card design, Los Angeles, USA

 

Chagall Greetings, 1949, ink on paper. Marc Chagell, 1887-1985, Russian.  Philadelphia Museum of Art

 

 Mother and Child, 1984, Colortype in six colours on Ivorex paper and screenprint from 14 stencils in 18 printings. Richard Hamilton, 1922-2011, English.  On loan to the Philadelphia Art Museum in 2016

 

 

Pan of Rohallion, model 1889-1890, gilded bronze.  Frederick William MacMonnies, 1863-1937, American.  National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

 

A new year come again.