Caged

naked walls
stare at me
judging my
mortal existence

bare floor
pulls at my
stumbling feet
i fall

large dark hole
into nothing
but emptiness
in slavery

Over the Edge

i follow you
to the edge
a cliff marking
end of time

we grasp
cold sweaty hands
take a leap
free falling

rocky ground
endless sky
closer to the end
impact in sight

pull the cord
all is safe
jerk back
fly free

no limit
no worry

Perfection

shower me with flowers
bed of daisies
petals soft
against my nakedness

blanket of satin
free of all
worries and despair
continuous calm and content

comfort in hope
on this earth
the screams of pain
silenced

within the flames

Solitude

smells like rain
says the man
tattered shoes
nappy beard

thunder rolls
dark clouded sky
lightning strikes
in the park

old man huddles
narrow doorway crowded
pushin' and shovin'
back to the street

rain falls
innocent man wanders
alone in the storm
the sky weeps

Copyright © 2001 Angela Albee
All rights reserved

About the Author

Angela Albee wants everyone to know that she was married in Las Vegas in March, 2001 and that she is still very happy, even if it's not apparent from the poems she writes.

Angela says she naturally seems to write dark poems, but she writes a few happy poems, too. She "dreams of being known and published worldwide," but she'll be pleased if only part of world reads and appreciates her work in the meantime.

Born in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, on March 7, 1872 as Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan, he later shortened his name and studied painting at the Amsterdam Academy of Fine Arts - both of which were against his parents' wishes.

At first he painted pastoral landscapes with soft, dreamy lighting and deep, somber greens. In 1908, he was influenced by the work of Dutch painter Jan Toroop, and Mondrian began to experiment with first seminaturalism, and then cubism. Representative of this later style are the works shown here.

Mondrian called his technique "Neoplasticism." Art, he explained, should not limit itself to reproducing existing objects, but should explore and reflect the "universal absolutes underlying all reality."

The artist moved to New York in 1940, when he was sixty-eight years old. His later works, such as "Victory Boogie-Woogie" (shown above) and "Broadway Boogie-Woogie" (not shown - Museum of Modern Art, New York City) reflect less gravity and more liveliness.

Mondrian's bold, simplistic art influences architecture, industrial design and graphic arts to this day. Piet Mondrian died in New York City on February 1, 1944.

The Images:

"Place de la Concorde" 1943. Dallas Museum of Art.
"Lozenge Composition with Red, Gray, Blue, Yellow, and Black" 1925. National Gallery of Art.
"Composition with Grid VII" 1919. Kröller Müller Museum, Otterlo.
"Victory Boogie Woogie" (Unfinished) 1942-43, private collection.