Anna Couani #166 the inkwell

the bamboo pen

the ink well

vintage glass thing

with its pressed pattern

and three wells

the paper ready

the concertina book

carried around for weeks

where the practice drawing

will occur

also

the sketchbook

the real thing

started

cover done

title chosen

first poem

printed on tracing paper

and glued in

with spray adhesive

photos of all the objects

taken and uploaded to iPad

there

accessible

waiting

all the preparation done

the pen haunts me

I think and dream about

picking it up

I can feel the sensation

of moving the bamboo

across the paper

think about it constantly

imagine the black ink

sitting in the ink well

and about two other colours

as yet unchosen

I mentally scan the box of inks

think about the beautiful

Senegal yellow

thick and glowing

everything is ready

and yet

the series consists of drawings

of objects from my parents’ houses

both parents now gone

so objects are not objects

it is essential to choose the colours

at least for the first drawing

the amber cigarette case

and think

is this a gestural exercise?

or will each drawing

take on some complexity

become a painted image

become watercolour

water

always there

at the ready

to sooth

now that we’re really alone