Poetry Challenge #7: Ekphrasis

Before you all panic at the weirdness of this week's poetic form's name, allow me to explain it. Ekphrasis means "vivid description of a thing," and it was first popular in Greek writing, hence the Greek name. It was mostly used to describe great works of art, either paintings, statues, or other classic art objects. Nowadays the form has come to be less about vividly describing the actual concrete art you have in mind, and more about trying to inhabit its world. Trying to describe something from within it can be challenging, but also very rewarding, as I can tell you now from experience. For this challenge, I want you to look around and find a piece of art--a painting, a statue, a photograph--that grabs you. Then think awhile about what in that piece of art speaks to you, and try to build a poem around that. There is no prescribed format for this particular type of poetry, so go with what feels right to you. I wrote a free verse.

OK, example time! One of my very favorite poets, William Carlos Williams, has a great example of ekphrasis, which I will share here:

Landscape With The Fall of Icarus
by William Carlos Williams
According to Brueghel when Icarus fell it was spring a farmer was ploughing his field the whole pageantry of the year was awake tingling near the edge of the sea concerned  with itself sweating in the sun that melted the wings' wax unsignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning

For my example, I stumbled upon an amateur photo (which was uncredited, or else I would give the photographer his or her due) that was quite striking. The poem below came out of reflecting on that photo.

Still Life

It was never my intention

to call a viaduct my shelter,

to make concrete and masonry

my dwelling-place.

They say life is what happens

while you’re making other plans.

I made a wrong turn somewhere,

leading me here.

Don’t pity me.

I don’t need your patronizing.

I don’t have much,

but I still have my pride.

Let me retreat

from my harsh sur-reality

to the calming patterns

of celestial themes.

Let me meditate

on what life still offers

by studying the perfect

symmetry of flowers.

I still have my life

I still have my health

I still have beauty

I still have.

You can find more description of ekphrasis and more examples here. So, once you have found your object and tried to inhabit its world for awhile in poetic form, I would also ask that you find a picture of it on the web somewhere and post the link to it with your poem so readers can get the full experience of your writing. Have fun, I know I did!