by Bob Leutschaft Poitras

When the Cline House Gallery issued a call to writers to write about a selected piece of art, I jumped at the chance! The previous year, I had written about a piece in their juried show before I even knew they held such an event.

When I saw this piece, by Frank Mulvey, almost immediately my mind started to form a poem.

I read it at Cline House. Here it is…

Stepping Through 
(Inspired by “Different Doorway” by Frank Mulvey)

I've searched for indelible truths
In unlikely places
Where senses are silenced and numbed;
For many years I trudged along
But found not a kernel
No matter how deeply I plumbed 

Then one night beneath charcoal skies
I saw in the shadows
A door unexpected and strange.
I approached its glowing portal
And felt, right through my skin, 
An unspoken promise of change 

In early days of my regret
Would I have dared step through
To trade my future for unknowns?
And would I now forsake my search,
Leave all I think I’ve learned,
To finally drop this bag of stones? 

I almost forced myself away,
But was it wise to spurn
That promise of another try?
I held my breath, I moved my foot,
And in that instant heard
A newborn baby's painful cry 

© Bobi Leutschaft Poitras, February 2024

What gets your creative motor going? Share the process, thoughts, false starts – whatever! Send words (poetry!) & images to cagac.ca@gmail.com