Feeling My Way Along

March 30, 2026

Feeling My Way Along

proprioception

as does my brain know
my little toe,
even in the dark, so

too do the inner chambers
of my heart know
your presence

via clear sweet invisible
filaments of sound that pulse
their way through our house

when your fingers
strum your guitar strings.

—dotty seiter

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*work in progress*
6 x 6″; collaged scraps and ink on acrylic on paper
*Make Yourself at Home* series
2026

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Notes about poem and art:
• As does painting challenge me, so too does writing poetry! And I suspect it’s the inherent challenge and innate problem-solving ever-present in both modalities that keep me hooked and perpetually feeling my way along. The thoughts and emotions behind “proprioception” are crystal clear internally, but required countless false starts and revisions in order to approximate the inward clarity with outward expression in words.
• With the work in progress featured above, I continue to feel my way along with directions I might take in my Make Yourself at Home series of paintings using house motifs.

artist at play

collage, inward feeling to outward transcription, make yourself at home series

Posted by:

Dotty Seiter

12 responses to “Feeling My Way Along”

carol lee

March 30, 2026 at 7:22 am

Your poem, so sensitive and and full of love and intimacy!

I love your quilt-like approach, the naivety, the stitching and the background blue that will hold it all together!

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1. Dotty Seiter
  
  March 30, 2026 at 7:43 am
  
  Carol, you are a keen observer, and I so appreciate your comments. Thank you! You’ve perceptively pinpointed several key intentions that I brought to both poem and art. In “Proprioception” I wanted to use as few words as possible to convey in as pure and simple a way as possible the love and intimacy. And, yes!, to the naiveté—that’s exactly what I wanted to play with. Plus, just yesterday I was pleased to see that the stitching and background blue were working as I’d hoped to keep the individual patches cohesive.
  
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  1. carol lee
    
    March 30, 2026 at 9:35 am
    
    I wish I was a keen observer of my own works!
    
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    1. Dotty Seiter
      
      March 30, 2026 at 1:36 pm
      
      Often much harder to be a keen observer of one’s own works or behaviors. That’s why we talk and explore with and learn from friends : )
      
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Joyful Puttering

March 30, 2026 at 8:26 am

Yes! The emotions in your poem are crystal clear and thinking about the sound of the guitar is making my own heart skip a beat! This Make Yourself at Home college is wonky and wonderful….I’m going to love this series!

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Dotty Seiter

March 30, 2026 at 1:38 pm

Thanks for the thumbs up re the clarity of emotions in my poem, MaryAnn, and thanks for letting me know you are loving the wonky and wonderful in my Make Yourself at Home series thus far. I am ever appreciative of enthusiastic cheerleading : )

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lolajovan

March 30, 2026 at 3:10 pm

Dotty, that poem is crystal clear to me! It is amazing how much you can convey beautifully without too many words, each one enough and not too much.

Your Make Yourself At Home series delights me! It says SPRING and comfort and safety and a place in the world. xoxoxoxo

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1. Dotty Seiter
  
  March 30, 2026 at 4:04 pm
  
  Lola, thanks for your feedback. You put into words precisely what the (wonderful) challenge of this poem was: to see if I could convey beautifully exactly what I wanted to expess, without too many words, each one enough and not too much. YAY!!! (fyi, Dave is downstairs playing strumming his guitar strings as I write ❤️).
  
  Fun, too, to know that you see in this new art series spring, comfort, safety, and a place in the world. Woo hoo!
  
  Thank you, thank you!
  
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Simone

March 31, 2026 at 6:30 am

Part 2 of your work in progress! Wonderful! And – as always – love your poem. No Google Translate needed this time ;-)…

>

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Dotty Seiter

March 31, 2026 at 7:05 am

I often struggle when I am in the beginning place with a new exploration, but I am always glad in the end that I keep pushing.

I’m smiling that no google translate was needed this time! With all the music and love in your home, I’m thinking this is a poem whose content you probably experience yourself ❤️

Thank you for your comments : )

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Sheila Marie Delgado

April 1, 2026 at 6:00 pm

This is one of my most favorite of your poems. Because as they say, it is short and very sweet. Reading that it was a struggle for you, to make your words as clear as your feelings. And to keep it brief. You make it look so easy, Dotty. Your use of the language. What more needs to be said? What more could be said. It is all there. And the images in my head are vivid. The warmth of your love and experience is palpable. Bravo, Dotty! xoxo

I love the home series. The energetic wonkiness, the stitching. The simplified shapes and playfulness. So fun Dotty! Keep on, keeping on!

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1. Dotty Seiter
  
  April 1, 2026 at 7:26 pm
  
  Sheila! Thank you so much for your glowing affirmation of my efforts! I’m grateful to know that my words created vivid images and palpable emotional communication. YAY!
  
  “Building” my new house here was way easier than building my poem, but both were very engaging and creatively satisfying.
  
  THANK YOU!
  
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