\nthan the trunk
\nof a human skeleton ? <\/em><\/p>\n
But look
\nhere is the four armed cross
\nthe breath of the glassblower,
\nthe ceramicist, ironmonger<\/p>\n
Here is work, long as the prayers
\nof a Bavarian priest<\/p>\n
Here are the trees that grow in the nave \u00a9 Frankie McMillan<\/p>\n Reproduced here with permission.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n This week, as part of the \u2018poetry in response to a work of art\u2019 (aka \u2018ekphrastic) Tuesday series, I am delighted to welcome fellow Christchurch poet, Frankie McMillan. For more information on the image, click here on Sagrada Familia<\/a>.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n In July 2011 my partner and I travelled around Spain, spending several days in Barcelona, home of Gaudi\u2019s famous architecture. My mother had recently died (she had never travelled far) and in some funny way I became her eyes; she too had come along for the ride. The \u2018 wooden box\u2019 and the \u2018 skeleton\u2019 are attributed to Gaudi\u2019s father, but of course reflect my own concerns.<\/p>\n I was enthralled by the Sagrada Familia \u2013 \u00a0Gaudi\u2019s vision, his use of intricate organic forms (many of which reference the beehive structure) the soaring spires, the inclusion\u00a0 of glass and metal work, and overall the sheer energetic excess of the architecture, left me feeling like an awestruck kid: ‘But look.’ \u00a0<\/em> The end line, \u2018the bees in his father\u2019s hair\u2019 point to the inherent difficulties of the parent\/child relationship.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Her poetry has been published widely in NZ and overseas. Her book, \u2018Dressing for the Cannibals\u2019<\/em>\u00a0 (Sudden Valley Press) was published in 2009 and in that same year she won the NZ Poetry Society International competition. This year she will be one of the judges.<\/p>\n Frankie currently teaches at the Hagley Writers\u2019 Institute in Christchurch.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Cathedral of the Poor Gaudi watches his father tend bees, draws the shape of hives, the pillars of Sagrada Familia smoke pours from a wooden box, his father rises around his neck are baubles seeds from the magnolia tree Is there any better structure than the trunk of a human skeleton ? But look here […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other-writers","category-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20515"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20535,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20515\/revisions\/20535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nthe helicoid columns
\nthe bees in his father\u2019s hair
\n.<\/span><\/p>\nPoet’s Note From Frankie McMillan:<\/h3>\n
About The Poet:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/FrankieMacMillan-99x150.jpg\" "\\"FrankieMacMillan\\"")
<\/a>Frankie McMillan is a short story writer and poet. Her short story collection, \u2018The Bag Lady\u2019s Picnic and other stories\u2019<\/em><\/strong> was published by Shoal Bay Press. In 2005 she was awarded the CNZ Todd Bursary. In 2008 and 2009 her work was selected for Best NZ Fiction anthologies. \u00a0Many of her stories have also been broadcast on radio.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/TuesPoem.jpg\" "\\"TuesPoem\\"")
<\/a>To read the featured poem on the Tuesday Poem Hub<\/strong> and other great poems from fellow Tuesday poets from around the world, click here<\/strong><\/a> or on the Quill<\/strong> icon<\/strong> in the sidebar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"