Two Poems by Karen L. George & Art by Aziya Murat

Emily Carr’s Zunoqua of the Cat Village, 1931  

Totem of an ogress, snakes for hair
hung on each side of her head
ready to nip her shoulders.

Large forehead, eyes ebony, empty,
mouth spread in a screech.

Said to steal and eat children
but also bring wealth.

Behind her a torrent  
filled with cats drowning 
in green, only their heads visible,
faces choked with wild eyes,
trapped between the ogress
and two buildings consumed
by swollen fire.

In the foreground, a lynx, 
and a boar charges 
from under a wave’s belly.

A dark forest edges the background.
In the pine’s murky understory
eyes loom.

Mysteries by Lee Krasner, 1972

Two perfect white teeth, red gums, black silhouette of a jaw wide open, unhinged in a
scream.

A large drop of blood, like a comma or a tear with a pointy end. Above and below, claws
poised to puncture.

A two-tone tulip keen to spread petals.

A heart with a scary gap, erasure of a love.

Karen George is the author of five chapbooks, and three collections from Dos Madres Press: Swim Your Way Back (2014), A Map and One Year (2018), and Where Wind Tastes Like Pears (2021). Her work appears in Adirondack Review, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Indianapolis Review, Writing in a Woman’s Voice, Mom Egg Review, Stirring, and Mezzo Cammin. https://karenlgeorge.blogspot.com/

Aziya Murat is an artist from Kazakhstan. She earned her master’s degree in media and communications at La Salle University. She is fascinated by the merging of the digital and physical, embracing digital code as a raw material, new forms that transcend the boundaries of the organic and the artificial, addressing unique issues of intimacy, and interaction in the computer age.

Statement: In my oil on canvas series, I aim to reflect on the border of our unconsciousness where we collect our memories, emotions, and cultural symbolism. In the “Wildest Dreams” series, I portray the unconscious mind by means of symbolism and color palette. “Wildest Dreams” allows an observer to access our animalistic nature, basic needs that are raw and wild, and reminds the observer about our primitive side.