Monday, September 21, 2026

POEM "Wordsmith"


Background image above by Peter Bösken from Pixabay (I merely changed the brightness and contrast). Free for use under the Pixabay Content License.

 Wordsmith

By Richard H. Fay

The flame of my creativity
Forms words into poetry.
The hammer of my talent
Shapes lines into artworks.
The spark of my inspiration
Yields artifacts of beauty.
The ingenuity of my mind
Crafts literary treasures.

POEM "Angry Man"

 

Angry Man

By Richard H. Fay

Angry man yells at the sky,
Mad the sun rises so high.
Angry man damns the breeze,
Annoyed how it chills his knees.
Angry man curses the day,
Irate it never goes his way.
Angry man insults the night,
Sore he struggles to sleep tight.
Angry man abuses his spouse,
Fuming over her new blouse.
Angry man upbraids his kin,
Enraged by many a wry grin.
Angry man condemns his work,
Galled he labors for a jerk.
Angry man cusses at his car,
Livid it never carries him far.
Angry man maligns his abode,
Riled it sits on a main road.
Angry man raises his fists,
Irked by life’s turns and twists.
Angry man spews obscenities,
Vexed by diverse difficulties.
Angry man slams the door,
Furious to his very core.
Angry man punches the wall,
Cross over the insanity of it all.
Angry man hollers and screams,
Apoplectic over shattered dreams.

A blood vessel bursts in his head
And angry man then
Drops dead.

POEM "Selectively Blind"

 

Selectively Blind

By Richard H. Fay

I see what I want to see
And  ignore all the rest.
I see what my biases
Allow me to perceive.
I see what my beliefs
Permit me to espy.
I see what my opinions
Suffer me to observe.
I see what my viewpoints
Indulge me to discern.
I see what I wish to see
And discount all the rest.

POEM "Bellicose Bully"

 

Bellicose Bully

By Richard H. Fay

The bellicose bully blusters belligerently,
Picking a plentitude of fights with puny peers.
The hated harasser harangues harmless marks,
Warring against the weak and worrying the weary.
The aggressive antagonist assaults the innocent,
Inflicting innumerable insults and injuries.

POEM "Retrogressive Sexists"

 


Retrogressive Sexists


By Richard H. Fay


Backwards men wishing to turn back the clock

Hold warped views of history.

Regressive oafs dreaming of a return to yesteryear

Hold twisted views of society.

Backstepping dolts craving old-fashioned ways

Hold outmoded views of patriarchy. 

Chauvinistic pigs longing for antiquated practices

Hold distorted views of masculinity.

Misogynistic morons wanting to revoke suffrage

Hold jaundiced views of femininity.

Bigoted brutes demanding women become slaves

Hold wretched views of humanity.

POEM "What is Art?"

 

What is Art?

By Richard H. Fay

Art is human creativity
Expressed in sharable means.
Art is human emotions
Exhibited in tangible forms.
Art is human cultures
Expounded in knowable frames.
Art is human intelligence
Exposed in skillful fashion.
Art is human beings
Being extraordinarily human.

Fine Art vs. Illustration: Some Views as an Artist/Illustrator

Yes, there's a distinction between fine art and illustration.
No, that distinction isn't a matter of quality, it's one of intent.
Fine art is art for art's sake, art intended to be art.
Illustration is still art, art meant to illustrate a text or a concept.
However, the two MAY overlap.
For instance, I'd have Tolkien's illustration of "The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the-Water" hanging on my wall. Was it meant to be fine art? No, not really. Might it be considered fine art? Possibly.
Another thing…
I get annoyed when some folks argue illustration isn't really a form of art.
Yes, fine art and illustration are two different forms of art with different intentions, but both are still forms of art.
As an illustrator, I can tell you a lot of ART goes into many of my illustrations.
As an illustrator who has, on many occasions, intended his illustrations to be art, I'm living proof that the distinction between fine art and illustrative art might be nebulous at best.
Yes, such a distinction exists, but it's not always a hard line between the two.
If the distinction between fine art and illustration is a matter of an artist's intent, and if fine art is art done for the sake of doing art, then if an artist says they intended for their illustration to also be art, ipso facto their illustration is also fine art.
Far too many people live in a black and white world when the real world is full of many shades of gray (not to mention numerous hues of various colors).
Let me clarify my views regarding fine art and illustration…
Yes, I see that there is a distinction between the two, mostly involving intent.
No, I do not see that distinction as a hard black line separating the two ad infinitum.
I see it as a gray area.