Still Life of Your Mother
By Peter Fowler
sitting on the plaid couch,
arms hugging bent knees,
in a window-lit one room apartment.
over there, beyond her
a kitchen with two pots
a dishrag next to a glass
a spoon holding onto
an old drip of black coffee.
her face is drawn
to the long shadows of late afternoon
so we cannot see her
Is she thinking or crying
or stoned?
On the small table beside her,
wilting flowers,
a blue lighter, a pack of cigarettes,
a minnie mouse mug,
all the things in her life.
About the Poet
A native of Massachusetts, Peter Fowler currently lives and walks his two greyhounds on the south shore. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degree in education from Suffolk University, and loving the college campus vibe, Peter has been a student affairs professional in Boston for over twenty years. Peter’s poetry is sometimes a practice in mindfulness, giving focus to a particular thing. Other times, his poetry is therapeutic, an attempt at trying to figure things out.
About the Artist
Cape Ann-based artist Rebecca Anne Nagle, is a newly developing artist attending Montserrat College of Art as a painting major. As a professional figure skater, she has always been a very physical person creating marks and patterns on thick sheets of ice with the subtlety of body weight and various pressures through the blades on her feet. That physicality often gets transferred onto canvas. Movement provides a template for edgy and abstract mark making, repetition, and exploration of color theory. Interesting exploratory social and political commentary pieces are created when there is a forge between the integrity of the subject matter and the goal of exuding empathy. Experimenting with pastel, acrylic and collage, as well as various surfaces, brings depth to the work.