Gayle M. Petty is a poet and playwright from St. Paul, Minnesota. Her poetry has recently appeared in Loonfeather, ArtMag, and South Dakota Review. Her published work has been included in the anthology, Writers Who Cook. From 1995-97, she wrote art inspired poems for the Minnesota Museum of American Art.

The cumulation of my writing life led to playwriting when I realized poetry was only a vehicle. Playwriting is one part music ( I am a choral musician) and one part eavesdropping. (Yes, that is me at the coffee shop writing on napkins.)

Szechuan (NYC, 1997)" It was never about poetry. Poetry was the heartbeat that froze the scene,the snapshot that made life visible. Szechuan and cheap wine, a lucky combination in contemplation of 'what to do, if the pilot dies.' This is precisely why New York City is so big. Those that remain here, don't have any idea 'what to do, if the pilot dies' and so remain.... aimlessly wandering until they find the answer or work up the courage to ask one another."

Send comments to Gayle M. Petty. Visit her web poetry link. Many of her art inspired poems were commissioned by: Minnesota Museum of American Art. Under Construction: A complete art inspired poetry web site is available at Purple Bongos At The Bus Stop.

Her plays include:

THE CHANGE (1996) one-act

MEANWHILE, THE MEN (1998) full-length (Public Reading at Playwrights' Center,2301 Franklin Ave East, Minneapolis, Mn. at 6:00 PM, Thursday October 29.1998)

Her current work is FINALLY, THE FINALE, a mid-life romance. She requests internet discussion of the genre of romantic comedy.

The Well

Inspired by: (A Statue: Howell Gallery, Santa Fe, NM )

If they were poets
dipping for words
and not water, it
would be like this:
the helping.

They would come
bearing obsidian jars.
Form a human chain.
Lovingly carry their
words ceremoniously
back to their villages.

They would pour
out their poems,
words linked like
their hands. Water
for survival.
 
 
 
 

Scream
Inspired by: The Scream by Edvard Munch

You do not have to be five feet tall
to scream, to run away, to save your life.
Scream to shatter the glass eye of a criminal.
Scream to rupture the eardrums of an intruder.
Scream to inflict aneurisms upon a drug infested brain.
Scream to be heard a block away.
Scream to cause three phone calls to 911.
Scream to gain power, to control the situation.
Scream to get time; mobilize; and run away.
Scream from your belly. Send electricity to your toes.
You do not need clothing to scream.
You do not need keys or a whistle to scream.
You do not need mace, noise makers, phasers, or guns.
You were born into this world screaming with a desire
to live. Live with that desire. Do not forget how to scream.
Scream at horror movies. Scream in amusement parks.
Scream in parked cars in the dark. Scream in broad
daylight. Life belongs to you and so does your scream.
 
 
 
 

The Good Mother For My Inner Child
Inspired by: "The Bath" by Mary Cassat

She whispers: When you pick the first green
apple on the highest branch, bring your
ear to the tree's bark; let it say to you the
way to come down.
She decorates my bedroom with wallpaper
of Raphael's angels. Each bedtime instead
of prayers, we imagine together what good
deeds those angels will do.
She ensures that my marron and white saddle
shoes are always carefully polished and supplied
with new plaid ribbons.
She invents imaginary names for the swirls of
white boiled frosting as she decorates my birth-
day cake covered with flat confetti sprinkles.
She creates a rock garden in a pie tin of round
smooth stones the size of robins' eggs each
gathered from long walks along the river;
each holding a secret, special, story.
We feast on Popsicles of pastel colors whose
nectar is only from exotic Hawaiian fruits.
We drink milk from tiny china teacups.
We look at flowers with a magnifying glass.
She wears clothes to cuddle slobbering babies
and allows the sniffling of dogs.
She bathes me with laughter, tenderness,
kindness, trust, security, gentleness.
My feet go first in the water. She feels the deity
of my special being and feels awe again that there
are ten toes just like that first amazing moment
when we first met.