The following post for One Shot Wednesday is also my response to the latest Bookstains Poetry Challenge. The challenge is write a poem about Grant Wood’s iconic painting American Gothic. If interested in participating, then click here for details.
Approximately 650 miles from Winesburg, Ohio
Much nearer sticks to hospitable care
When boring wood lampooned beliefs
You may feel free
Bury me there
Ulysses & Grant would go home again
Iowa forgiving prodigal pride
Blond Emily Dickinson stares into oblivion
Poseidon’s prop gripped by father time
Behind them lies someone’s home
Spring arresting American plume
Sprouting hawthorn of unmentionable kinds
Reckoning they did die here too
This entry was posted on March 1, 2011 at 9:02 am and is filed under Image Poetry, One Stop Poetry with tags American Gothic, Blog, Bookstains Poetry Challenge, dustus, Grant Wood, One Shot Wednesday, One Stop Poetry, poem, poet, Poetry, poetry online, Poetry Reading, Reckoning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Dustus Blog 
March 1, 2011 at 9:23 am
Hhehe LOVING it Adam!
“Poseidons prop gripped by Father Tme….”
I have to put this on the American GOthic Poetry Challenge NOW!
Great contribution – and very much appreciated!
March 1, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Thanks, Lynda. Your challenges provide a great way for poetry to combine with noteable works of art. Always a challenging learning experieince for me.
March 1, 2011 at 9:37 am
[…] who has the most wonderful poetry blog, full of challenges and delights! Well worth checking our here AND with the added bonus of actually hearing the poems read by the […]
March 1, 2011 at 3:58 pm
you know – they look very unhappy…love the wood lampooned beliefs and the poseidon association…
March 1, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Incredibly interesting artist, Grant Wood. Studied in Europe then returned to his roots. Took an awful lot of heat for this one, yet he found acceptance in the end when people began to interpret the painting more as an homage to hard working folk. Personally, I love the ambiguity of paintings like this one. Lynda selects excellent subjects for her challenges. Thanks, Claudia.
March 1, 2011 at 4:28 pm
This painting was given to us by a wiseacre friend when we got married and now hangs in a spot of honor in our bathroom. Your poem does it more than justice–great great wordplay on the names, and that line “Blond Emily Dickinson” really got me. I’ve always had a fondness for this work of art, and your poem kind of echoes the ambiguity you mention. I can see them buried in the backyard quite easily.
March 1, 2011 at 4:56 pm
A tribute to a country this seems with simple and beautiful metaphors!Great Dustus!
March 1, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Adam,
Such a different photo to write to, yet one that Americans know well. I too liked “Poseidon’s prop gripped by Father time”. Very well done and clever wordchoice used. Thank you for sharing! ~Corbie Sinclair
March 1, 2011 at 5:06 pm
This is terrific– vivid, with a good flow to it. xxxj
March 1, 2011 at 5:11 pm
/its more than entertaining to read your page ,, truly inspiring this is 🙂
March 1, 2011 at 5:21 pm
wow, your poetry always amazes me.
March 1, 2011 at 5:21 pm
A well written tribute to the good old USA. 🙂
It was fun to read.
March 1, 2011 at 5:33 pm
What a fun prompt! You are a master of words. 🙂
March 1, 2011 at 5:44 pm
I love the play with “wood” and “Grant” – and then conflating the couple into Emily Dickinson (and there’s a resemblance!) and Poseidon.
March 1, 2011 at 6:03 pm
On a related note, you can sing much of Emily Dickinson karaoke-style to the theme song of Gilligan’s Island. I do not mean to imply that Poseidon was responsible for the Minnow’s shipwreck. lol
March 1, 2011 at 5:54 pm
He has the look of *I’ve been married far too long* she has the look of *jail would have been far easier*. together they make a miserable pair. Emily Dickinson would have smiled at one point or another one would hope! Might try this next week see if time and health allows. As always Adam I reiterate what I said on Petes blog been reading you for over a year, made me want to blog art and poetry. Just wanted to say cheers x
March 1, 2011 at 6:05 pm
smiles. thank you …as an aside, the people who posed for the painting (and not in front of the house) are supposed to represent a father and daughter—that’s where part of the controversy occurs b/c many interpret them as a couple with a healthy age gap between them.
March 1, 2011 at 5:59 pm
Excellent words for the pic.
March 1, 2011 at 6:13 pm
Lots of mileage obtained by this line: Ulysses & Grant would go home again
I just have to admire it. Tridents and Poseidon too…there’s a little Greek and Italian homage buried in both your work and his. Lovely.
March 1, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Neat, i liked it Adam
March 1, 2011 at 6:42 pm
What a fine tribute in this poem to American art and poetry!
Dustus, this is magnificent. You hit all the right icons and buttons.
Lady Nyo…I didn’t know that about the Father and Daugther.
March 1, 2011 at 7:03 pm
Adam, you have laid out wonderful imagery here.
Well suited for the art.
March 1, 2011 at 7:06 pm
dude fun word play…blind emily dickinson…lol, by the looks on their faces they may already be dead…smiles.
March 1, 2011 at 7:30 pm
It always bothered me to think they represented America… Nice write.
March 1, 2011 at 9:00 pm
I always thought it was a couple, too. Good to learn something new. Love the second and third lines along with the whole thing. You write smart poetry 🙂
March 1, 2011 at 9:37 pm
Ah, always entertaining to see one art stir another – and American Gothic’s one of those I’ve always been curious to see people’s interpretations of the story behind. Enjoyed the word play, and the solid references – quirky and entertaining image, Dustus!
March 1, 2011 at 11:40 pm
The Blond Emily Dickinson…wow you blew my image of her with that…your wit show through well on this one Dustus…fun read…bkm
March 1, 2011 at 11:51 pm
A great work of art from my native state. You can actually buy a pie from the lady that lives there now. Your poem is a great companion for the art.
March 2, 2011 at 4:17 am
What a fine fiiiine take on this amazing piece of art, Adam.. you really inspire me to take up the challenge myself!!
The pictures you have painted with your words here totally match up to the real thing too 🙂
Quirky and witty.. now that’s yet another facet of your amazing poetry that I’m seeing today!!
Much enjoyed!
March 2, 2011 at 6:50 am
your words remind me of wood chips and dustus
floating through the air like brown metal rustus*
if in the garden he be adam, would she be the daughter of eve?
‘twas that devl’s pitchfork that tempted them to leave…
she thinks, ‘he never smiles, he looks like a dork…
i would feel safer if he’d put down that fork!’
all i said was, ‘…i’m your daughter, you’re my dad…
still, that’s the worst haircut you ever had!’
*this is a good thing, said the footnote to the toe
through the winds of time good stories blow.
good stuff adam! i will never look at this iconic painting in the same way.*
March 2, 2011 at 7:01 am
brown metal rustus* (*spits out coffee*) Cracked me up and certainly footnote worthy! ahahaha “The Ramifications of a Bad Hair Day” Thanks, t
March 2, 2011 at 6:57 am
I pass the exit for Winesburg on my way to Cedar Point in Sandusky.
Kudos on doing double-duty, Adam! (Waste not, want not)
March 2, 2011 at 6:59 am
Was it something he said? I’ve always wondered. The pitch fork was his last defense. Don’t know much about the painting otherwise. So some of the references I would have to google. From the comments though those in the know gave great appreciation.
March 2, 2011 at 8:06 am
‘Behind them lies someone’s home’ sometimes your words take us where we dint want to go and yet at times..exactly where we would like to be..nice twas Dustus.
March 2, 2011 at 9:47 am
I love the pairing of E. Dickenson and Saturn holding a Poseidonal scythe. Dickenson would heartily agree to such a match, midway between Amherst and blue heaven – Brendan
March 2, 2011 at 9:48 am
like others here, i enjoyed the new look at this old familiar painting, through your words. also liked hearing you read it. it helped me hear the short, almost choppy, rhythm, which in turn gave me a feeling of heartland simplicity.
March 2, 2011 at 10:01 am
Kind of eerie with spirits of place.
March 2, 2011 at 10:19 am
this i liked…great write..cheers pete
March 2, 2011 at 10:41 am
Heh, heh. Fun poem! Gothic in its own right. Love how you pulled in several American icons and cultural references. And as always, your language and syntax are striking, inimitable really. Great one shot!
March 2, 2011 at 12:13 pm
What a great response to the picture!
March 2, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Love the silly nature of this image (and also a slight creepy too…I dunno maybe something to do with the pitchfork in hand sense….I know farming…but still…lol) Incredible always Adam “Blonde Emily Dickinson stares into oblivion” can really feel something drawing in that line…well it’s entire structure…wonderful work! Such a cool challenge too!!! 🙂 ~ April
March 2, 2011 at 5:07 pm
Good piece, made me smile. Everything works here.
March 2, 2011 at 5:28 pm
I thought they unburied them so they could pose! Seriously though, another wonderful write, Adam. This particular painting has always irked me for some reason, but with your piece below it, I almost feel sympathy rather than distaste. Loved the first stanza…bury me there 🙂
March 2, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Funny how that man and woman seem almost young to me now that I’m a lot older.
Emily Dickinson, eh? She does find her way into many great modern poems,like this!
xo
March 2, 2011 at 6:08 pm
I’ve been enlightened! Nice one!
March 2, 2011 at 6:10 pm
There is an energy in the turn of the one
“bury me there”
wow….I couldn’t get over that line
started writing my own poem with that line
….good poem…but that line
haunting
I was expecting to have it repeated
March 2, 2011 at 7:02 pm
Love the line ‘Sprouting hawthorn of unmentionable kinds’ sounds so delish and naughty.
Thanks for stopping by with the comment.
March 2, 2011 at 9:50 pm
They are really unhappy looking people. Their faces speak volumes. I’m glad your imagination was listening. Intriguing One Shot, Adam.
March 3, 2011 at 12:06 am
Razor blade sharp the way you worked in so many references bound not only by geography but by the movement of time through the poem. Learned a wiki’s worth about the picture just from reading through the comments but you’re poem does it justice in a way I’ve never quite seen before. It is a very positive use of the iconography of the image spread out in sort of a tableaux of Americana mixed in with several great classical reference points. You must have really put some sweat into writing this one. Very impressive piece. Take care,
crb.
March 3, 2011 at 2:03 am
I enjoyed this one very much and its quite inspiring. Your word play on the painting is beautiful.
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/03/whispers-winter-dew.html
Twitter @VerseEveryDay
March 3, 2011 at 3:22 am
as many times as i’ve seen this painting, i guess i have “seen” it only in my imagination. i would have sworn that she looked as old as him.
great poem, Adam, but yours always are.
March 4, 2011 at 7:07 am
Ah, were it possible to pluck words out of the air! How do you do it?! Lovely.
March 4, 2011 at 3:26 pm
I’ve seen the picture so many times over the years and often wondered about the meaning behind it. So much more interesting when you understand the history and symbolism of a painting.
A sharp and observant piece of writing Adam. Good luck in the challenge.