Flowers for my love
Many perspectives one vase
Beauty for Beauty
Photos: Dwight L. Roth
Five for the Price of One
Perspective
Questions on Perspective
How much are your core values worth?
At what point do we lose our moral compass
in favor of gaining temporary comforts?
How much political division does it take
to eat away enough of our fabric to bring
the whole tree crashing to the ground?
How many lies does it take to become truth?
What makes us believe we should choose someone
who is morally deficient and politically corrupt
to run our country and lead our nation?
Whether it is Congress or the Presidency,
division is eating away, not only our democracy,
but also, our common sense, knowing right from wrong.
Think long and hard about choosing a raging bull
to manage our China closet…
Photos: Dwight L. Roth
When All is Lost
I can’t imagine what it feels like to lose everything. It is very sad to see the devastating fires in Maui that wiped out businesses, neighorhoods, and have taken over 90 lives so far, with possibly more to come. We see the same thing happening in the Ukraine with cities being razed by Russian bombardments.
When everything you have is reduced to ashes, it makes one realize the importance of life. Things can be replaced. Homes and towns can be rebuilt, but loss of life can never be replaced. It is at these times we realize the importance of friends, family and faith all coming together to help with recovery.
Wildfires floods and war
help us gain new perspective
The value of life
Painting: Dwight L. Roth
Independence Day…”all men are created equal”
Fourth of July 2012
I wrote this poem almost ten years ago. Thinking about the 4th of July and what independence day really means, I realized that it is all in the perspective from which it is viewed. It may be uncomfortable to look back at history the way it really was and know that for many generations, equality was nowhere to be found. A lot has changed in the last ten years, but inequality still exists in our nation. What will you and your children do to bring about change for the common good?
When all the fireworks fade into ashes
And the Bar-B-Que grills have cooled.
When the wide eyes of the children close in blissful sleep
Do you ever wonder what Independence Day really means…
To the ancestors of African slaves brought here in the holds of ships
Who look back at our forefather who bought and sold them,
Forefathers who wrote, “all men are created equal,”
And realize, the dark ones were not included.
In the words of, Thomas Jefferson, “less than human…”
Or, perhaps, to the Native Americans who loved the free and open spaces
Only to be run off their lands, pushed into the deserts,
Left where summer heat scorched them
And winter snows chilled them to the bone,
Where animals were few and crops refused to grow…
Were they a part of “All men are created equal?”
No, in the words of our former Presidents,
“They were just savages… they were less than human.”
Or, perhaps, to the ‘”Illegal Aliens” who scrub our floors,
Pick our fruits and vegetables, build our houses,
And mow our lawns and mulch our shrubs,
Are they part of “All men are created equal?”
No, in the words of many of us, “They are just ‘wetbacks,’”
Nameless illegals, “…Who should be sent back where they came from.”
Though we may not say it, some of us think they too are less than human.
How quickly we forget the dark side…
How soon we lay aside our guilt, insult, and pain…
We rise as a flower in the sidewalk crack,
Stepped on over and over again,
Yet, we rise and bloom from the strength of our roots.
Independence Day is a time to “Bloom”…
To draw from the strength of our roots… not to forget, but to move on
To all that we can become, in a land where in God’s eyes,
“All men are truly created equal!”
Time Tumbler
Time smooths sharp edges
Mellows rigid perspectives
Time opens our blind eyes
Seeing others as equals
Colorblind // first step to peace
*
Time shakes us up
tumbling through our little
blip of eternal sinus rhythm,
spitting us out like grape seeds
to be replanted in another
place and time
*
Time sometimes just
swallows us whole
Painting “Splitting Space and Time”: Dwight L. Roth
Today at d’Verse, Laura asked us to look at the use of repetition in our poetry. Epiphora, from the Greek means ‘to turn about/upon’… and is used to drive in a point through poetic repetition. I am using the word time in my poem to show how we flow and change in time itself.
The painting is an abstract that I did a number of years ago. I thought it fit well with my theme!
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com
Two Different Perspectives
A few years ago I painted this waterfall. It started out from a completely different perspective. It was originally a painting of Looking Glass Falls in the Pisgah National Forest, NC. I had it sitting upside down in my garage. When I looked at it, I loved the way the perspective of the overhanging rocks changed as the painting rotated. I decided to turn it sideways and paint the waterfall flowing from the opposite direction.
The bottom painting was the original and the top painting is the redo. I added in more rocks and extended the waterfall to the bottom. I like the way it turned out. If you rotate the bottom painting you can see how the perspective changes.
Rotation changes
Rocks and water perspective
The world keeps turning
Paintings: Dwight L. Roth
Hue
Painting horizons
I create blends dark and light
across evening skies
mellowing reds and yellows
Call me Orange Hue
*
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
This evening at d’Verse, Mish asked us to write a poem from the perspective of a color. I chose Orange.
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com then click on the Mr. Linkey box and read more…
Painting the Farm
I have a friend of my family who grew up in my home community in Pennsylvania. When my two brothers and I visited there a couple of years ago, we drove past the farm where her grandfather once lived, and was passed down through the generations. It was still in good condition, although the trees had grown quite large over time. The little white barn and tile silo were still there. On the hill above the farm, sat a little brethren church. Tombstones in the cemetery contained the names of many of her friends and family members. I took a few photos while we were there.
We had a few warmer days the past two weeks that allowed me to paint, so I decided to paint the farm picture and send it to her in Virginia. I had two good shots, one close and one far away. Not being able to decide which one to paint, I decided to paint them both at the same time. This was the first I tried painting two at once. They are on 11 x 14 canvas board. I hope she will enjoy them.
Family farm stories
left in memories long past
Silo stands empty
Painting the Debolt Farm – Dwight L. Roth
Rise Above
Condor rises high
Above churning ocean waves
Others ride strong swells
*****
Rise above life’s ebb and flow
Find your true perspective there
Painting: Dwight L. Roth
The Tree of Life
Today I am sharing a poem from a dear friend, Ike Glick, who lives in Edmonton, Alberta. He sent this poem with his Christmas Letter, and I thought it was very creative and well written. The word Sophia is a feminine name which means wisdom. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
The Tree of Life
Sophia *
‘God’s wisdom’
The essence of Being
Even before creation, “I Am”
“On the heights” for life perspective
“Along the way” in unexpected places
Confronting, “On the path I take my stand”
I may be found outside the gates of power
I am ubiquitous
I am available
I am optional
Most free are they who choose my ways
“Those who find me find Life.”
As they follow the star . . . *
Echoes of Prov.8, Mt.2, Luke.2 Isaac Glick 12/2020
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Roth Poetry 