Aware that M.S. Evans paints and draws, as well as writing poetry, The BeZine invited her to submit artwork to accompany these poems when we accepted this blog post. We asked M.S. Evans for artwork to accompany and complement the words on the screen (we used to say “on the page”), not to “illustrate| the poems. The result is this blog post, which The BeZine presents here as separate yet interconnected works of art by M.S. Evans.
—Michael Dickel, Editor
Spare Guardian Floating
Spare Change
Spare Change Sidewalk, slouched. My eyes circle the rim of a crumpled paper cup. Puddles cooly stare up; too sure of an answer. Strangers offer me naked cigarettes; slim-boned solidarity. My softness wrapped in copper wire, I learned to smoke.
oil pastel
Guardian of Keepsakes
The weight of boxes ease; released, forgotten, re-homed. A guardian of keepsakes, I carry the irreplaceable, sentimental. Not naive enough to trust my home will last this time.
watercolor and ink
Kicked Out
They gave my room away when I became pregnant You’re welcome to pay for the basement; uneven floodplain. First trimester: missed period, tender, insulted.
tercolor and ink
—Poetry and Art by M.S. Evans
Artist’s Notes
“Floating Away” is an oil pastel piece I did in the early 2000s, when my housing was very unstable. There is a lot of yearning in this piece: for stability, but generally for a future.
“Bronx Botanical Garden” is a watercolor and ink piece from my time in NY, in the late ’90s. At that time I was doing a work-exchange for a room in the house of an elderly Yiddish poet and artist.
“Backdoor” is a watercolor and ink piece from my current living situation in Butte, Montana. There are signs of decay, but also of continuity and intent.
Poetry and Artwork ©2020 M.S. Evans
All rights reserved
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