For Stephania5 -- poem Intimate River

[IntimateRiver]

Some time ago, over in another forum where people posted pics of themselves, I pulled up one of my 'working photos.' and posted it. I lreally enjoyed the enthusiasm of Stephania5's response to my picture, and nick name.

"OMG!!!!!!!! *Steph dies* I loooooooooove your name! Intimate River! That is sooooooo beautiful! And that sculpture is amazing!!!! And it doesn't hurt that you're damn good looking too"

Normally, I should respond under that post somewhere. But I wanted to post the poem I wrote one night, "Intimate River" for her. So this being the poetry section, here it is. I will write a bit about it at the bottom, as is my like.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


INTIMATE RIVER
(The Gift Of Love)



Emotions awoken in the Intimate River
Dance from the oceans to the mountains
And back again

Touching
Tasting

Caressing the smoky gray clouds
And blue diamond daydreams
That cradle and nurse the child of tomorrow
At the breast of today's wide open thirsting

Grasping for the power, grace and fertility
That spew forth
Forged by the thousand fires
That pour down from the mouth of eternity
Pulsing

Shimmering

Bursting out in one song
Sung by the multitude of voices
With praise unending and cups uplifted
Hailing the ALL'S Intimate River

Bowing down and asking
Begging
Crying
Laughing
Flying in joy and sorrow
Breathing in deep the universal ALL, and asking



Asking not, "do you love me"
But can you give me all of you
Asking not, "do I love you"
But are our hearts wide, wide open
Are our souls truly committed
To this journey of spirit
Between these banks that hold fast
The Intimate Waters of our Life

Dedicated to Jim Lange
1948 to Forever

Gary Lange: copyright Feb 1995

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So that's where my alias comes from Stephania5. I suppose I could have chosen various alias's when I first posted here, but I have been working on a sculpture with this name for years, too many years, so that was just natural. Somebody all ready had, "I'm On My Way," which sounds good to my ear, and the name I used years ago when I planted trees, "Bongo" is just too much a part of the past, to bring up again. I have not gone by that name in decades. So here I am, IntimateRiver. Enjoy, gary

PS, the whole book of poetry, "Intimate River Sounds," resides at the following web address.
Oh ya, the poetry and the sculpture are both dedicated to my brother, Jim, who died of cancer back in 1994.


Intimate River Sounds (http://www.intimateriver.com/Intimate_Web/home2.htm)

[SHANIANUTS!]

Magnificent, touching, wonderful - words fails me!

Thanks for joining us Gary - and Steph is a young woman of very good taste and character and judgment - I told her one time I wish I had a daughter just like her!:)

[IntimateRiver]

Originally posted by SHANIANUTS!
Magnificent, touching, wonderful - words fails me!

Thanks for joining us Gary - and Steph is a young woman of very good taste and character and judgment - I told her one time I wish I had a daughter just like her!:)

Hell, the way I stumble around these days, I wish I was young and just like her, or something like that.


Thanks for the compliments. Glad you enjoyed.

PS I do remember writing the original version of this poem down on a sheet of news print that stuck out from under the sculpture, late one night. The poem, Intimate River, came to me, verse by verse, over a few midnight hours, as I was working away. I also wrote down, next to the poem, all the $$ figures in my head concerning what various sized editions of the sculpture, done in bronze, could be worth. (It was much smaller then, but my visions have always been over-sized) When I closed down that studio six years ago, it is the one thing I truely regret throwing away, a piece of paper of all things!! That night has had a huge impact on my life. The sculpture ended up getting it's name from that poem, and a lot of the themes I have developed into the sculpture as I have gone on and on, working diligently for centuries on the stupid thing, also came from that poem.

I suppose I should add that I am in a bit of an introspective mood today, because I have just been told I must close down my current studio. And yes, the sculpture is still not finished. Life is strange, gary