Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Western Boots

 







Western Boots

from my studio window 

mountains to the south 

veiled in a cloudy mist


to the north     Taos Mountain

Mother Mountain

sacred mountain

stands watch


a skull visible

on the side of the mountain


the little town below the mesa

a sleepy little town in Northern New Mexico

at night like a Christmas tree

lights sparkle in the darkness


Taos history of art and artists

who came for a new scene

a new landscape to paint 

new colors, new people


two artists on the way to Mexico City

by wagon, a wheel broke just out of town

they flipped a coin 

who would take the wheel for repair?


they loved the look of the place

they never made it to Mexico City

they stayed in Taos and founded

the Taos Society of Artists

Sharp, Blumenschein, and Phillips


most days the sun shines brightly

in winter     snow

the smell of piñon smoke 

from kiva fireplaces




Written for: https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/


Note:  This is a photo in my computer.  Since I am a techno-peasant, I don't know where it came from, or how it got there.   Or how to remove it?   

 

















10 comments:

Sherry Blue Sky said...

I love the photo of your beloved mountain, Annell, and the beautiful poem describing a special place. I love the image of the town looking like Christmas lights at night. I have heard it is a mecca for artists of all kinds, Natalie Goldberg for one. And can see why you were drawn to it. The desert has a beauty all its own. Thanks for sharing your poem.

Mary said...

What a beautiful photo! And what a beautiful story. Makes me want to visit Taos...sounds so peaceful there.

Truedessa said...

Interesting how the place was founded. I guess, they saw art and decided to stay to create.

Susan said...

". . . at night like a Christmas tree
lights sparkle in the darkness . . ." Like the light in your paintings! I'm glad to know the story of Taos. I've visited there, so I relived the place through your poem.

Kim M. Russell said...

I love the images you paint in this poem, Annell. Sadly we have no mountains here, but I remember one in Italy where the lights of the villages shone like a Christmas tree. These lines stand out, the sensual imagery is so strong:
‘sacred mountain
stands watch
a skull visible
on the side of the mountain’
and
‘in winter snow
the smell of piñon smoke
from kiva fireplaces’.

Sumana Roy said...

I love the shiny image of the sleepy little town looking like a Christmas tree. Beautiful.

Eileen T O'Neill ..... said...

The image accompanies the poem very well.
Its warmth explains the quiet and peaceful environment...yet a different scene across the border zones, within Mexico..

Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil said...

I had to Google the Taos Six. Interesting group! I appreciate the rule that artists had to live in Taos for three years before being allowed to join the collective. That story made the poem come even more alive for me! Thanks.

Marja said...

Love the history in this poem and what a view from your studio window. Looks like a magnificent place

Dr. Pearl Ketover Prilik (PKP) said...

Stunning in image and exquisitely written ... love the way it expertly draws to a brilliant close that leaves one with the scent of the air.

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