Beyond Birds and Answers: A Dialogue

Thinking of what to say to introduce this book is like trying to put the wind in a bottle or running to catch a firefly.

Once the decision to exchange words and images was made between us, it became a flow, a natural function of spirit, somewhat effortless. Of course, the shaping came later, putting this book together as a carefully designed work of art. Thank you, Katia Hage and Elyssar Press.

Dialoguing in poetry is an ancient form. The Japanese wrote linked poems. The poet in this book has been dialoguing with other poets for over 30 years, and even earlier as a dancer. Ekphrastic poetry is also as old as the written word. We see this in the beauty of the Chinese scrolls. A poet writing with an artist becomes a conversation and an ever-expanding story. Writing can be like dancing to a painting. Painting can be like

singing to a poem. Colors bring words and words invoke shapes and stories.

We invite the reader to find a beautiful place to read this book, a place where you can sit and simply dream.




Can I catch a firefly?

Put the wind in a bottle?

You ask me to explain

and there is only mist

Going to a place where there

are more than answers

death, a myth




Alice Pero

Vera Campion