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July 14, 2010

Facescapes

I see ancestors in everyone’s faces
Echoes of ancient civilizations
Reflected there as visual clues


Hints, in the eyes, of far away places
Recalling hard-sought destinations
Suggested by ruddy skin hues


In shaggy mane or silken tress
I see those who came before
And dared to survive


The oldest custom or style of dress
Says less where a nose says more
About those once alive


Inescapable, immutable law
Started at the earliest dawn
From where the races ran


Occipital brow or slender jaw
Each belies forefathers gone
Borne through time by man

17 comments:

  1. And how we respond and react to these "ancestors in everyone's faces" says more about us than it does about them. Nice one.

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  2. intriguing...i always look at old paintings and photographs and think about their stories...what life they lived...nice one shot!

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  3. This is wonderful! I love this historical sense of impressionism in wordplay and visuals! :) ~April

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  4. the pictures brought this piece to life, although I assume they are dead...vivid

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  5. love it, the words and paintings - I always like to guess at the stories too, that live behind the faces...

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  6. Its the similar in a cast of the eye that makes the past suddenly come alive. Thanks for dropping by. My H is a poem about a hollow hearted man. Hope your week goes well.

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  7. very nice and the faces of those past...we are just reflections of these souls....bkm

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  8. Beautiful! It seems incredible to me those were once here in this world as we are today...and we'll be like them seen so far away in not so far a future...

    D.

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  9. I like the tie-in of those who have lived long ago with those living today. Really neat!

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  10. It's true and the blends are fascinating. My first trip to Paris on the Metro was a trip to the future where I saw children with dark skin, fair hair, and eyes like emeralds. Their smiles were like portraits from the Renaissance pushed into a bladerunner set. What an exciting time we live in. Great piece. Thanks for posting. Gay (@beachanny)

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  11. To prove again--and more, that we have not changed, only our toys, not our insides. Except maybe we live longer now. And move faster.

    Nice 'shot!

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  12. I guess we are all related in a way.

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  13. Awesome one, Eric. Agree with April and add that the rhymes are outstanding.

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  14. It is good to think about the connections that go back and have formed us in so many ways. Makes you think about identity in a different way. The presence of the photographs works very well. - bill

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  15. Painted faces of ancestors really seem most fascinating!
    What stories they tell!! And how we read them, tells something about us too I suppose...

    A very interesting and intriguing post!
    Thanks for sharing this idea here, Eric...

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  16. a very well written piece...i love looking at old painting and photos and trying to live their history...i am proud of my ancestory and love to pass stories of it on to my kids..great poem by the way..cheers pete

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  17. I feel like I'm back in Art History and waiting for the test

    Very well thought out. You gotta know I studied art for years and it is my love.

    Thanks for this for One Shot

    Moon smiles

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