| | | | | | | | | | | | |

The Phoenix

This year it was so hot a phoenix arose from the sizzling sun

Sunglasses on we tried to see it’s wings unfurl

Still the bright golds burnt our eyes

Taking  it’s first flight

we saw the feathers turning into flames

And for all it’s beauty

there lay a monster

of our own image

making wild fires

consuming homes

Both earth and flesh  parched and burnt

Meanwhile

in the auspice continent of Antarctica

another iceberg melts

in the Arctic another bear dies

And from here we hear the persistent echo of the phoenix call

a hollow primeval scream

a final warning cry

©Kate Rattray

the phoenix

The mythical bird said to rise from the ashes symbolizes various things depending on which religion you are looking at. It could be renewal, resurrection, time, fire, the sun. It’s origins lie in both the ancient worlds of Greece and Egypt. In Egypt it was a solar bird known as the ‘Bennu’ and associated with the sun.

phoenix flames

The ‘sun’ of my pheonix is made using Italian gold leaf smalti.
The wing feathers are made with stained glass, mirror glass and my hand gilded metal leaf glass.
The tail feathers are copper wire, glue, paint and varnish.

Phoenix sun body

Phoenix head

detail of Phoenix head

You can buy the Phoenix in my shop just here

Similar Posts

6 Comments

  1. Wow, powerful poetry Kate. Your Phoenix is beautiful! Has he got a home to fly off to?

Leave a Reply to minimizemattersCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.