Many artists, whether they be musicians, actors, painters, photographers, writers or dancers, tend to stay within their respective artistic comfort zones. For exceptionally talented creative expressionist Katayoon Zandvakili, the world is her comfort zone and she loves exploring it.
This Persian-born, University of California-Berkeley-educated, San Francisco-based Renaissance phenomenon, is a published poet, painter, screenwriter, novelist, musician and all around classical bohemian. She enjoys covering a canvas and filling a page with beautiful poetic observations, as much as she adores listening to violinist Sarah Chang and jazz/soul singer Melody Gardot.
Here is an excerpt from her fantastic published poem “Mary Jane Song”:
America
was special boulders with butterflies
hiding behind
peekaboo trails —
boyfriend murderers
was the 1/2-believed, fluttering
phrase yielding great … oh, great — delivered with great
élan (totally wrong word), flair (even worse), oh what is the word
(Now)
oh yes, great happiness plain insight promises like soft kitchen light
one morning, some mornings
Is this what you meant? Are we
getting closer to getting it now? Does it begin to make Sense? Apply?
It’s not what I went to business school for,
nope. (Runny pancake syrup.) Not quite.
Try again.
No space.
America
was friends you hoped you could
keep swaying to be your friend — business shakes —
was the chocolate Nesquik homemade kind of truth, thick,
and tomatos begging to be spread over lettuce and avocado
was being a real sensitive kid —
was always leaving a square of your heart on
the coastal highway, the One,
from your tropical armchair at home
where you learned to own things without
possession, dreaming them light blue all the same
To discover more of Ms. Zandvakili’s brilliant portfolio, please visit:
http://www.katayoon.net/, http://www.katayoonart.com/ & http://www.katayoonblog.com/
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