Writing is my brain but poetry is my heart. I not only love to read it; I am relieved when I have the space in my life to write it.

A number of diary entries on The Diary of an Improvateur contain poetry, some written by others and some written by me. I’ll share an example of a post that includes one of my poems in case that entices you to stop by my blog and click on the poetry tag to see others. In the post, titled “God’s Articulate Finger,” I shared “Art:History” from Anywhere But Here, my first book of poetry published this year by Sharktooth Press. I was inspired to write the poem after studying the Sistine Chapel vault and the The Last Judgment, both envisioned and produced by Michelangelo.

The idea for the poem came to me when I saw how differently Adam and Eve are perceived in the ceiling frescoes—God’s articulate finger pointing to Adam as the chosen one a sign. I weave into the post anecdotes about Michelangelo’s life from The Letters of Michelangelo edited by E.H. Ramsden. It’s a slipcovered two-volume set—volume one covering 1496 to 1534 (which includes the four years he worked on the vaulted ceiling) and volume two highlighting the six years he was struggling to realize the altar wall.

Proving that he didn’t believe himself worthy of painting the elaborate project, Michelangelo told his father that the Pope had not paid him for the work on the Sistine Chapel in a timely manner but perhaps it was apropos: “I am still in a great quandary, because it is now a year since I had a grosso from this Pope and I do not ask for anything because my work does not seem to me to go ahead in a way to merit it. This is due to the difficulty of the work and also because it is not my profession. In consequence, I lose my time fruitlessly. May God help me.” I hope you’ll stop by the blog and read my poem inspired by his remarkable work. It’s one of my favorites.