What happens when a Scots artist and a Scots poet fuse the muse?

Scottish Witch Finding

© Pauline McGee 2011

This is the second effort of a distinctive collaboration between painter and poet. As in the first, TWIST, the painting portrays victims of the Scottish witch-finding times and their abuse. A poet responds to the artwork, absorbing the image and reacting. Comments most welcome.

Poet’s Eye

Studying the painting, my eye is drawn top left. I see an arm and face struggling, underwater. I recall the ducking chair, and it’s use.
Towards the bottom of the work, the calm, poker faces of the victims (see first two lines), hands held back from clasping mouths in horror … Evil people have their way when good folk do nothing.
If you want to hear this poem read, follow the link at the bottom of the post.

Tangled Weed

Stay brave. Make sure those brutes can never see
Fear’s count’nance stark and twisted fix’d on me
Oh evil souls who screamed-out je t’accuse
And ‘good’ folk never dared the charge refuse
And lasht my haggard body to this chair
And gob’d their spiteful words into my hair
As up, midst cheers they rais’d me to the sky
And plung’d me down ‘mongst rank weed slime to writhe

So long as justice fails the diff’rent soul
So wicked pow’rs steal love and take control

© Mac Logan: 27th March 2016

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/312543125″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Music ℗ Kyle Preston

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]