# 96 - Another Adventure - Lost in the Universe

          "Lost in the Universe"

Fellow Art Lovers:

It just seems that when I get an idea, I become obsessed with it and want to get as much out of it as I can. In my last post, I talked about linking painting and poetry, and I presented “Old Father Time” and a painting to illustrate it. Well, the idea has been bubbling up in unexpected ways. 

For the longest time, I’ve been fascinated by the universe – its beauty, its mysteries, its dangers and the fact that while we’re told that its infinite, it continues to expand. For me, this is even more interesting because we human beings, when faced with the endlessness of the universe, we still think of our own importance. Basically, how can we be important when we’re faced with this unending series of darkness, lights and colors?

So, I started out by writing a poem about the massiveness of the universe, but it sounded like a scientific description, and was – frankly – was not interesting. Then I changed the approach, and made it more personal. The poem – of course - is about me. “Lost in the Universe” is about me facing the universe in a strange way. 

Then, since I started the poem and the painting at about the same time, I began a process of cross-fertilization. I would write a few lines of the poem, and look at the painting I had started, and I would tell myself that I had to illustrate the concept contained in those lines. I’d be swinging my brushes from side to side, and new elements would appear in the painting. So, guess what. I realized that I had to add the concepts I just started painting in the written text of the poem. This back and forth went on for quite a while. 

So now, in the post, you can see both the written poem and the painting. 

And, believe it or not, this exercise has stimulated a bunch of new ideas for future paired poems and paintings. Also, I realized that I could write poems for paintings I had done in the near past, and that I had actually done the same pairing in some of my rap videos that I’ve already completed or planned to complete. 

Little by little, I’m going to do postings about these projects, unless someone sends me a note and begs me to cease and desist.  

          Detail from "Lost in the Universe"  

As you see, photos of the painting “Lost in the Universe” are in this blog, and below is the entire text for the poem. I have already recited the poem during a meeting of the Moonstone poetry group (www.moonstoneartscenter.org) Wednesday evening, Feb. 19, 2020, at Fergie’s Pub (1214 Sansom St. 19107, Philadelphia). There’s one photo here of me in front of the other poets and poetry lovers at Fergie’s. 

From my website (www.williamkosman.com), you can also use the links to access some of my other offerings. Also, I invite you visit my Etsy store (www.etsy.com - WilliamKosmanFineArt). And if you’d like to visit my studio, #310, 915 Spring Garden St., Philadelphia, PA 19123, please send me an e-mail at billkosman@gmail.com). 

As usual, if you have any ideas to share, of course I’d love to hear them. 

Thanks for listening. 

Best, 

Bill 

          I'm painting myself in "Mirror Play"

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        Yours Truly at Fergie's

Lost In The Universe ©

By William Kosman 

I had a dream the other night, 

A nightmare so scary I couldn’t make it right,

Dreamed I was lost in the universe,

Skating through the cosmos to find my way home,

But doomed to this endless space to forever roam.  

No rocket, no spacesuit, no air tanks to sustain me. 

No GPS, no maps or charts of the far-off galaxies to guide me.

How can I survive in this vast nothingness, so empty yet so full? 

Pushed back and forth as I pass the streams of light,

Eyes blinded by the shapes and colors so bright.  

How can I save my life with everything beyond my control?

How can I look in wonder at the beauty around me and save my soul? 

Sometimes in a dream you suddenly realize it’s all not real,

And you can mold your surroundings and choose your own actions.  

But with the colors and flashes around me there’s only distractions. 

A voice within tells me to gather my courage, 

To reach out and grab at the passing stars. 

Maybe I can cling to a planet, to my Earth. 

Maybe I can reach out and get home again,

But the courage doesn’t come to me, so I have nothing to gain.   

I look out into the darkness and try to conduct a careful survey. 

I’m looking for the planet Earth, the Moon, or even the Milky Way. 

But I’m too far, and I’m moving too fast. 

I look, I look, but I can’t see any clues.  

I know I can’t find any hints I can use.  

Show me what I have, tell me what I’m missing.  

I have to want them, and the desire has to be crushing.  

Give my family back to me, give my friends back to me. 

People are life, being with people is the meaning of life. 

Enjoying them, helping them, loving them, that’s life.  

Why is this happening to me? How could I deserve this hell?

I’m just a speck of a being, and my rising fear traps me in a prison cell.  

I have to look past my fear and examine my life. 

I have to turn my forced space exploration

Into a voluntary self-examination.

I remember I was really happy when I worked to help the needy. 

A friend and I used a loaded van to find the homeless in the city,

We brought them meals to get them through the night,

And fresh clothes to warm them and give them a chance to find work. And that warmth we felt when some returned to relate their success. 

If I want to get back home, I gotta pay the price, 

Think of the person I used to be, just think of my life.  

I used to help folks, the poor, the homeless and the old, 

So now, I have to dedicate myself to serving humankind. 

In the vast emptiness of space I see a plan for my future. 

I’m tossing and turning in my twisted nightshirt, 

I stumble to the floor, but I feel – surprise! – alert.  

I’m waking up to a new day in my very own bedroom. 

I’m back home, yes, finished with a trip I’m proud of,  

Back on solid Earth with the people I love.  

I woke up in the same warm bed where I started, 

And, okay, yes, my left hip somewhat smarted.  

But I’m dead serious about the promises I made to myself. 

Sure, it was only a dream, but it wasn’t just messing around. 

I was lost in space and now – just maybe – I’m found.