Poetry

Dark to Light

| Rochelle Tasca

Hi there, everyone!

I hope all has been well and that you’ve been safe and healthy!

Lately I’ve been so occupied with a number of things in my personal life, that I’ve not had the chance to share with you some of the projects I’ve been up to. As I’m in a bit of a “cool down” period right now, I can finally have this chance!

I’m delighted to share with you all that my newest work, Zwischen den Butterblumenfeilen, is a contributing piece for the Dark to Light exhibition that will be on display in the Art Depot’s Spotlight Gallery from August 8th – September 19th in Abingdon, Virginia.

Benefiting the Ashleigh Langbein Project Foundation, the exhibition showcases the artworks of 21 artists across the US in response to Ashleigh Langbein’s poignant literature. For the show, I’ve selected this particular writing as I found myself immediately connected to it…

“Death and Grief”

“Dense Macabre
Round-a-bout of skeletal fractions,
Bones picked for sport.
A festival of frantic actions,
of the ephemeral type of sort.
A shot taken- gone through the ribs,
Albeit alcohol or a bullet, who knows?
A feeble old man comes,
and they call dibs,
There massive numbers only grow.
A prayer is made where one of them rests,
The 1st prayer to him ever spoken.
A mist appeared inside his chest,
so he vanished now, unbroken.
For years now, unbroken.
For years now they’ve all been waiting,
as the people they love grow older.
They keep each other company-craving.
For a name whispered on a sepulcher.”

– Ashleigh Langbein
_________________________________________

The passing of my father was one of the most monumental experiences that shaped me into the artist I am today. Watching both of his cancer and alcoholism strip him of strength, awareness and mobility had all been instrumental in my understanding of what death and greif entail.

Naturally, the relatable sense of anguish, as transcribed so vividly in this poem, is what prompted me to demonstrate my connection. The subject of my work touches upon the complexities of loss and sorrow in addition to paying homage to all of those who’ve battled, and or continue to, suffer from cancer and alcoholism.

Zwischen den Butterblumenfeilen, 2020 graphite on paper, 11 x 17


Those of you who are in the VA area, I hope you all have the opportunity to view the outstanding artworks in response to the lovely poetry of Ashleigh Langbein. A huge thank you to Rayne Singree and Paula for putting together such a remarkable exhibition. To view the gallery’s website, please follow the link here: http://www.abingdonartsdepot.org

Below is a beautiful description that was written for the ALP open call:

“The Ashleigh Langbein Project was founded in 2017 by Paula and Russell Langbein in honor of their daughter to continue her legacy through acts of love and support. The ALP works to fund scholarships for students in Psychology and Theater at the post-secondary level through endowments established at Emory and Henry College, Ashleigh’s Alma Mater. With this exhibition, the foundation hopes to connect to Ashleigh’s words and story to a wider audience by asking artists to create a piece in response to a selection of her poetry. A prolific writer, Ashleigh’s poems talk about her struggles and victories, the light and dark. Thus, the title of the show: Dark to Light, inviting us to do what Ashleigh did for so many people she met- turn the darkness in this world into light.”

7ruit

| Rochelle Tasca 


The songs of birds tell us stories between the leaves.
Those of wild flowers and rotted trees.
 
In the Garden of Tainted Fruits, 
rest decaying and brittle,
soil and roots.

Empty truths
and spiteful pursuits,
fill the skies 
under light 
of quiet fireflies.


Spaces

| Rochelle Tasca

I’ve been drinking lately, but I’m alright with that.

An idea;

to surround myself with these demons so they can taste my heart in your place.

They fill a void in my lungs;

just deep enough, for the night to cradle my head back to sleep.

These lucid dreams, entice these beasts

while they stroke my cheeks and whisper;

” Let us taste you. “

.

” Trace those lies,

with our tongues against your thighs,

for us to feel and divide.

Let us love you in their place,

to guide your fingertips between the space.

.

‘In between the sheets,

Your skin belongs to us.

Those tears and fears that

dictate

use

and abuse you,

offer no greater flavor

to our sensibilities.

.

” Our Dear,

this is what our love can teach you. “

.

” Let alone those marks, Love. “

‘ You’ve been drinking lately,

so let us carry you to those parts of hatred,

where your tears collide with the bottom of our glass. ‘

The Quiet

| Rochelle Tasca

The worst feelings come at day break,

when I wake to ice filling in my stomach.

Throughout the day,

I feel ugly and aged, swept by overwhelming tears

that come to me in waves.

When the evening comes again,

I move with anxious haste

to silence this loneliness

that stir within my wrists.

This heartache proves to be more powerful,

and I feel it all;

this void in my chest,

telling me I deserve this.

Left To Give

| Rochelle Tasca

Beneath the shards of glass

stripped with fever and down to ash,

I ached to be your everything

when the sun collided against these walls.

In the quiet,

you were the loudest heart beat against my own.

As the moon took her rise,

she gently whispered;

” There’s nothing left to give. “

while her tears fell gently from the sky.