Nicholas de Stael
who perhaps rings no bell
an emigre with an artistic knack
twixt figuration & the abstract
Categories:
emigre, art, people,
Form: Clerihew
Kept in the coldness of the grey,
dancing on the edge of unraveling frey.
Time is the only oppressor that can say,
if we are allowed to go or allowed to stay.
Complacent, small-minded we are along the way,
to fall for the belief we are responsible for this repartee.
Anymore than comprehending a double entendre,
can anyone remember a time of subtlety?
Many wishes to flee for solace, emigre,
unacceptable devices to be captured in a dossier.
On my knees, hands in the air out loud I pray,
sins spilling out, everything in disarray.
Distant laughing at my naivete,
A subtle touche.
The silence in my head with intense ricochet,
No answer from above, things never go my way.
Categories:
emigre, angst,
Form: Rhyme
Prattlers, this voice on stage tenured its talents well
Acme of the art, the rare thespian my father spoke
Ubiquitously your destiny's duality, and swell
Lauding you, my head, and naught this spell broke
Lawyer, and luminary in African people's racial cause
Emigre from home tossed on controversial seas, he
Revered third of the race from Rutgers, had no pause
Overperformer in sport, in scholarship and art, free
Yielded fame for freedom liberating black hopes still
Respected in politics, honored for stagecraft and will
Oyster of our pearl, we thank Princeton for your birth
Black and brilliant son, whose shadow shade far flung
Europe and the Caribbean. How wide you stride the earth
Sensational in song and show, censored and blacklisted
Oppressed and despised too in strange minds time-twisted
None but honorable death could harm you, O great native son.
Categories:
emigre, black african american,
Form: Acrostic