Saturday, August 11, 2018

Poetry by Michael H. Hanson

Michael H. Hanson, a writer and poet who has published four collections of poetry and over ninety short stories, also creates poems inspired by paintings that he's seen on Facebook. Two of my paintings - Jessie's Diner and Cell Phones - were the genesis of poems this summer. Reprinted below with permission.

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Jessie's Diner
35" x 65", oil on linen, 2017
Courtesy of Adelson Galleries

This Treasure Chest

Another day at the diner,
the weather couldn’t be finer,
sizzling bacon perfumes the air,
each waitress a fun diviner
dispensing advice with a flair,
serving both kid and old-timer.

So pure the open window breeze
allows sweet grill smoke to allay
omelets piled high with cheddar cheese,
bottomless mugs in this café
putting most everyone at ease
as groggy thoughts just drift away.

Breakfast hash for the hungry man
and melon slices for the girls
all squeezed into a tight floor plan,
humanity’s palatine pearls
sharing these stools with kind élan
as broken egg yolk slowly swirls.

The crunch of toast, fresh home fries roast
in this room blest, this treasure chest
and common bistro on the coast
perfect, precious, and grandiose.


22 July 2018
Michael H. Hanson ©2018


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Cell Phones

15" x 15", oil on linen, 2012

Private collection, Massachusetts

Allegorical Oracle

We’re all plugged in, synced to the source,
bound by some discourteous force,
distracted from another course
of coffee, tea, and sane discourse.

An unconnected appendage
raking the highest percentage
of those who cannot save a dime
and fear missing the assemblage.

An unseen cybernetic ghost,
a steel leech with us as host,
devouring both our voice and touch,
a whipping post where we can boast.

We’re all together yet alone,
cold and phantasmagorical,
trusting the seer that is our phone,
allegorical oracle.


13 July 2018
Michael H. Hanson ©2018

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quotes

"There is more power in telling little than in telling all."
- Mark Rothko

“The mind loves the unknown. It loves images whose meanings are unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is unknown.”
- Magritte

"Now, the idea is to get everything right -- it's not just color or form or space or line -- it's everything all at once."
- Richard Diebenkorn