Myth of Arrival

My friend, Ekaterina Evseyeva, is a Sakha poet, photographer and scholar living up near the Arctic circle in Siberia. She asked if we could collaborate together; she would send me one of her outstanding photos and I would write a poem in response. I think her work is so good it deserves a page all its own. The captions after each photographer are her own writing (I find it artist statements a wonderful way of getting to get a glimpse into the artist's thoughts) Thank you Kat! and here is the work she has shared with me so far:

“Apple of contention”

May 2006, Yakutsk, self-portrait

“Oh, this apple for the perfect one….it should be mine! I, goddess Hera, I deserve to be called the only beauty among all gods and humans. Or, are those two, Athena and Aphrodite, who also claim they are also charming and divine, more beautiful than me?”

Eternal argue who is more beautiful comes from ancient Greek times.

“Roofs of Yakutsk”

September 2006, Yakutsk, my friend Maya as model

Roof glisters after rain…low, smoky clouds cover sky, the perspective disappears into vague horizon line. Sit there, where night winds reside, where cats wander in their secret missions, where birds never make nests, where you can feel your loneliness and look into yourself. Find the balance.

“Beaurocracy”

September 2006, Yakutsk, my friend Valeria as model

It can make a person be an impersonal being, it shuts down doors for our dreams, it can depress our best intentions and activities, it is sooo cold and careless to what humanity values – freedom, democracy, love, compassion, equal rights.

Does it have ears to listen to us? Does it have heart to appeal to?

“Runaway winter”

April 2006, Yakutsk, self-portrait

We usually greet spring, its annual arrival, it brings us joy of nature renewal. Spring is felt in new grass, swirling birds’ songs, sunny warmth.

And what is gone we forget - we forget winter till next year.

Winter gradually fades away, loses her ground for growing fresh-up powers of spring. Runaway winter dwells in shadowy places where it’s still cold, where there is now sunshine.

And when we feel blue (whatever of), we should know how it feels for winter…and for those who have to go away.