I discovered a poetry blog, readwritepoem, which posts writing prompts and other thought provoking things. I'm considering asking to become a participant, but thought I'd try out this week's prompt to gauge how seriously I could take this -- not a matter of not wanting to for me, but of time.The prompt was to write an ekphrastic piece on one of the offered paintings by Rick Mobbs. Check out his site, Mine Enemy Grows Older, to see more of his work. The painting I chose is "Standing in the Shadows" and here they are -- his painting and my poem.
Saturday Morning
Jack’s home coughing
Stella’s pushing butterfly in the pool
Somewhere a horse is standing under the wings of an angel
Mom stares with coffee on the porch
Alice keeps face inches from fantasy
Somewhere an angel holds her armpit full of horse for safekeeping
Bob would go without me
Daddy would cover his eyes on the road
Somewhere the angel folds our dream beings beneath her stretch
Somewhere a horse leans out in freedom
Somewhere the red bodies and reddish brown knees
and golden brown edges know their place
Jack’s home coughing
Stella’s pushing butterfly in the pool
Somewhere a horse is standing under the wings of an angel
Mom stares with coffee on the porch
Alice keeps face inches from fantasy
Somewhere an angel holds her armpit full of horse for safekeeping
Bob would go without me
Daddy would cover his eyes on the road
Somewhere the angel folds our dream beings beneath her stretch
Somewhere a horse leans out in freedom
Somewhere the red bodies and reddish brown knees
and golden brown edges know their place
In order
blue boulder
white fine equine legs
angel’s crotch
like butter
shadow wonderers in their grey question
line up between that smoke
and where I write
watching
blue boulder
white fine equine legs
angel’s crotch
like butter
shadow wonderers in their grey question
line up between that smoke
and where I write
watching
9 comments:
I love it! I hope you find the time to write more. I'll enjoy exploring your blogs. Best wishes. Rick
p.s. you can set your blogger preferences to allow viewers a third option for leaving comments. Open ID doesn't work well with wordpress - for me anyway - and if someone doesn't have a blogger account they can't leave a comment for you to see.
rickmobbs.wordpress.com
Great poem!
Thanks for the note you left on my blog. Hope you do join Read Write Poem--it's a well-run group always looking for new voices to participate.
Hope to read more of your work soon.
Interesting how you took the fantastical elements of the painting and wove them into scenes of everyday life, grounding the fantasy and lifting the everyday to the level of myth.
How wonderful you have so many poems published!
Hope to see you on RWP again!
I just read your sestina on Sandhill Review- terrific! A just-right blend of philosophizing and mothering. Plus you worked the sestina with flowing grace.
Okay, I like this, especially the line 'Stella's pushing butterfly in the pool'
I couldn't help noticing that Jack's and Stella's are alcoholic drinks and horse angel and Bob are all street names for illegal drugs - if thats the case then I guess Stella wasn't taking a swim after all.
Nicely written poem though!
Thanks to everyone for your comments what fun what fun! I'm tickled by your drug and alcohol riff on my kids' names (sweettalkingguy) -- I didn't know Stella was a drink, I'll have to look that up.
Sorry about that Jen, I hope I didn't upset you or your kids, I really like your poem..
Stella is a European lager and very popular in the UK.
Yes, the way you include elements of the artwork is beautiful. I enjoyed this a lot.
No worries -- I like Stella, I like lager, I like the UK -- I especially like words that mean many things at once and put our minds to spinning.
I'm going on vacation now, hope to write a few poems!
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