CARL WILLIAM THIEL
Click headshot for bio
SUCCESS
I envy painters their ability to depict
whatever they imagine with
the swish of a brush
or the stroke of a pencil.
Let the finished product be open
to interpretation;
viewers can be moved
or not
purely by what they see before them.
In abstract it’s sensation.
It’s emotion.
It’s feel.
Here you are.
Take from it what you will.
In putting words to the page
an unconscious slip of the pen leaves one
open to misunderstanding.
Something as simple
as where a comma is placed in a sentence
can greatly affect the sentiment expressed.
When any creative work brings about a dialogue
between artist and audience, even if unspoken,
it succeeds.
ACOUSTIC HOURGLASS
The romantic-minded will tell us
that the shape of a guitar
is patterned after the ideal shape of a woman
rather than acoustic viability
what a delightful premise—
beauty over physics
Touch her in the right manner
and she will move in ways heretofore undreamed.
To gaze upon the curves
of the recumbent female form
is to marvel at
the supple sweep of her arm,
the pronounced bone structure,
the graceful contour of her side
as it narrows to her waist
before meeting the salient swell of her hip.
A woman’s naked back can speak
in mute eloquence,
conveying emotions,
wants and desires.
Without turning,
she can signal if she’s angry,
if she’s receptive,
if she’s relaxed or tense
or unsure of herself ...
it’s all there
if one knows how to look.
THE TASK WE HAVE BEFORE US
In moments of intense trauma
we notice everything around us
as if viewing a game or video in slow motion;
we are passive attendees,
not even participants in this emotional tumult,
helpless
to arrest the hammer as it falls,
the collision of metal and glass. Only
when we are jolted
by the sound of the crash
do we awaken from our torpor
amid a sudden speeding up
as if to compensate for the moment
when
time
stood
still
Our heart begins
beating
once more and with it comes
the thankful realization that
all we knew and loved is still here;
our task
now
is to pick up the pieces.
