Imbalance of Time by Neil Ellman

Symphony No. 1, The Transcendental by Richard Pousette-Dart

Imbalance of Time

(after the painting by Richard Pousette-Dart)

On the other side of what we know

an hour is no more an hour

than east is truly east

or light the feel of snow.

To travel from here to there

is a matter of perspective, faith,

not time, a journey imagined,

neither short nor long,

the contents of the sea

in a measuring cup.

The present feeds the past

like a mothering lion

feeds her young

and the past is nothing more

than the future in its mouth.

There is neither proportion

nor equivalence

nor harmony

when time, uncertain,

out of balance

is barely now.

Neil Ellman is a poet from New Jersey.  He has published numerous poems, more than 1,000 of which are ekphrastic and written in response to works of modern art, in print and online journals, anthologies and chapbooks throughout the world.  He has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize and twice for Best of the Net.

Editors Note: This is an ekphrastic poem and based on a work of modern art. The title of this poem is that of the original image (after the painting by Richard Pousette-Dart)