EXPLORING THE BASEMENT
by Cyndi MacMillan

I have seen the threshold, yet choose to climb
over cobwebs, far from the furnace
and the cold room filled with dirty jars

While a stain spreads over mended lace,
I step past this land-mine space,
above the reach of that dreadful light,
above my newest battle scar

The dark has dissolving layers
that only a few are quick enough to peel,
even underground, its creases unfold
swiftly, revealing growth,
beautiful, though broken and bare,
yet leaving just a trace of me, here and there

A secret scurries in this lair,
below my naked feet
or is it walking down the stairs
with an apology, soft and rare,
oh, so rare

Please, I’d rather stay high and dry
in the odd care of night

with my newfound brave
behind this lie of white

Last year, Cyndi MacMillan organized a series of three poetry contests where she focused on women artists. She wanted to match the visual style with the tone of the writing. The first was a Free Verse contest inspired by the work of Frida Kahlo, and the second was Contemporary Sonnets for Sofonisba Anguissola, a Renaissance painter. For the third, a Free Rhyme contest, she wanted to feature a contemporary artist to reflect a vision of today’s world. I was very honored to have my work featured. She explained that she wanted to “make it about today, feel urban, personal, speak the poetry heard on the radio, read aloud at spoken word performances, the pulse of this new era.” Out of the forty writers who submitted their poems to this contest on PoetrySoup, sixteen were chosen as winners. (Sadly, I didn’t follow the rules, so the poem I secretly entered under a pen name was disqualified from the start! Otherwise, I’m sure it would have done well in this contest -nervous laugh-).  Below are the the winning poems.  I will feature each poem along with the painting that inspired it in my upcoming blog posts.

	1	Myself in Urban Chaos	Dane Ann Smith-Johnsen
	2	FLORAL TAPESTRY	nette onclaud
	2	My Sleeping Child	craig cornish
	3	See This Girl	Andrea Dietrich
	3	Color of Sun	Carrie Richards
	3	A Day in the Life of	Catie Lindsey
	4	Thursday Again	David Mohn
	4	Before the Party	Debbie Guzzi
	4	Linsey-Woolsey	Charles Henderson
	4	PROTECTING HER TOYS	Andrew Crisci
	5	Cellar	DARREN WATSON
	5	Waiting : Stephanie Deshpande painting contest	Seren Roberts
	6	The Decision	Greg Stanley
	6	Breath On Thy Breast	AiyaH De Torres
	Honorable Mention	sleeping child	Barbara Gruner
	Honorable Mention	Devouring Carnal Desires	Susmita Das

One of my favorite poems is one that Cyndi wrote herself and shared with me. I find that I identify with her writing style as it contains a fictionalized truth similar to that in my own paintings and writing. Congratulations to all the contestants! Each poem I read seemed to speak to me personally.