Photo by Arsen Savadov
ANGELIC DEPARTURE
‘Even on impossible journeys, we are not alone.’
– David Rothenberg, Sudden Music
The angels are leaving, taking a boat across the water, perhaps to find a country where people still believe.
One has already lost his wings, because they said he was an impossible idea, a religious metaphor for messages from heaven.
Neither angels nor heaven exist, of course. Watch the empty boat drift away from shore.
.
© Rupert M Loydell
This poem is taken from A Confusion of Marys a new book by Rupert Loydell and Sarah Cave in which they explore, write back to and re-imagine the story of the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary, in terms of sequential writing, re-versioning, accumulation, variation and ekphrasis. Many paintings, photographs, videos and sculptures depicting the annunciation were used as research and inspiration, including works by Fra Angelico, Andy Warhol, Francis Picabia, Paul Delvaux and René Magritte. The work is part of an ongoing exploration of this material and associated themes such as colour, contemporary art, spiritual / alien intervention and intrusion into the human realm, symbolism and the nature of belief and submission. Previous publications centred on these topics include Rupert Loydell’s Dear Mary (Shearsman, 2017) and the collaborative works Joyful Mysteries #1-5 and Impossible Songs (Analogue Flashback, 2017).
Further information and purchasing details at
https://www.shearsman.com/store/Rupert-M-Loydell-and-Sarah-Cave-A-Confusion-of-Marys-p148874154
