The Tangled Branch Discussion Forums

Airport Art

Concourse graphics tout
earthly pleasures 
unique to this destination:
restaurants; entertainment;
commercialized natural wonders.

Under the Perfect Sun,
San Diego International,
stuns with a Biblical update
straight from the Pentateuch--

here God does not speak
from a burning bush
but from blazing palm trees.

 Under the Perfect Sun — Perry Vásquez (perryvasquez.com)

The ending is smileworthy. Well-observed and interesting write, sort of compact and punchy. So how about that art at Denver airport?  

Thank you, Mark, for the read and feedback. The Denver art would require an epic poem to be published as a book. I can barely squeak out a dozen lines these days.

art at the denver airport - Search (bing.com)

A good read, and the 'blazing palm tree' are memorable.

Thank you, Eric,

For someone such as myself who spent the better part of life in northern climes of the Upper Midwest, palm trees represent a tropical paradise. To see one burn (and I have) is a horrifying symbol of everything gone wrong.

Excellent poem Linda, succinct but packing a punch nevertheless.
 

Thank you, Dave, I value your comments as I know you are never one to pull your punches

Linda, I do like the allusion to the voice of God in your poem. To me, this art is that disturbing because these blazing palms are sources and spreaders of wildfires in California. It seems like pretty unsettling art to have in an airport.

You always have your eyes on the big picture, however concisely you write.

Jackie

Thank you Jackie,

Yes, I was taken aback by that whole wall of burning palm trees along the main concourse when I first saw it. I guess San Diego does well enough in the tourism business it doesn't have to use every square inch to brag. And it occurred to me that those paintings might very well be there to let said tourists know that although they might be able to enjoy a nice backyard bonfire in Duluth Minnesota, don't even think about it here.