Ekphrasis

Obscurity ~ American Sentence

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 29 Comments

Obscurity is a matter of perception, subject to bias.

This is my response to An Artist Gets His Due, the prompt from Lillian at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to write a poem inspired by one of five portraits by Thorvald Hellesen, a Norwegian abstract artist known for his Cubist paintings. I have chosen “Portrait of Elvind Eckbo,” painted in 1914.

The American Sentence was created by Allen Ginsberg
~ loose American form of haiku, with 17 syllables
~ represented as a sentence
~ reference to a season is not required
~ similar to senryū
~ read more here & here

Image source: ACC Art Books

Divine Intervention ~ ekphrastic poem

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 3 Comments

Divine Intervention

There is just one hell,
but everyone has their own
little pocket, right below
the surface for some,
so deep for others
they can pretend it’s not there
while it waits to surface
given the opportunity.

We may wish to never see it,
but some wallow in theirs,
divine intervention
the farthest thing from their minds.

 

“Divine Intervention” by Patty Gaffke ~ oil on canvas
on display at Gumbo Bottoms Ale House, Jefferson City, MO

Shared with Day Twenty-five at napowrimo.net (off prompt)

Left Behind ~ ekphrastic poem

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 16 Comments

 

Left Behind

The water nearly still
except for the wave
of a koi’s tail, I realize
it’s not my face reflected
on the surface, but your own
nearly obscured as it lies below,
your hair undulating as the koi
weaves its way through
before drifting away,
strength and perseverance
leaving you behind and me
to wonder why you didn’t follow,
as I wake.

 

This is my response to Poets, Start Your Engines, the opening day prompt for National/Global Poetry Writing Month at napowrimo.net. The prompt is to write a poem based one of the book covers illustrated at Public Domain Review’s article on “The Art of Book Covers.” The book cover here is … Charles Kingsley. The Water Babies. London: Macmillan and Co., 1886.

 

Mindless Direction ~ ekphrastric poetry

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 28 Comments

Mindless Direction

There was no order,
only madness.
Windows became doors,
doors became less.

A house divided,
claimed by a mass
that claimed to represent
the masses, became a shell.

No murmuration, this.
An uproar, a swarm
flocked to relight
a star totally eclipsed.

Their order a chaos,
disjointed, disorganized
yet contrived as rebellion,
brought only more darkness.

Disarray their purpose,
they took to flight,
dispersed, scattered,
their damage done.

murmuration – the flocking behavior of starlings
United States Capitol Attack – January 6, 2021

This poem is my response to The strange houses of Lee Madgwick, the prompt from Sarah at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to find inspiration in one of four surreal images of various structures. I chose “The Murmuration at No. 57.” More of the art of Lee Madgwick can be found here.

Out of Touch ~ ekphrastic

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 14 Comments

Out of Touch

“I thought of the future, and spoke of the past.”
                         Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Through a haze that erases
possession and masks potential,
where is the horizon?

I grasp but find nothing.
There is no satisfaction
in what is denied.

Past and future out of reach,
the present slips away
with each passing moment.


This is my response to Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Unbounded
and the photo that is provided.
It also responds to Poetics: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, although it is outside of the window to link it at Mr. Linky. (other responses here). That prompt from Linda Lee Lyberg at dVerse ~ Poets Pub provides several quotes from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” for inspiration.

Each New Sunrise ~ ekphrastic poem

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 37 Comments

Each New Sunrise

On the edge of nowhere
In the middle of everywhere
In your heart
And in your mind
Right there, before your eyes
Each new sunrise
That awaits you
Holds a potential
That is yours to discover

This is my response to Poetics: The Light of “Vika Muse,” which is to write a poem inspired by the graphic art of Vika Muse, whose work can be on Instagram @get.muse. I have chosen Perfect Autumn. (Click image for larger view in new tab.)

Helios ~ ekphrastic poem

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 12 Comments

 

Helios

What is distance
when you pass before us,
out of reach, yet so large,
so bright as to blind
any who gaze upon you?
When you dwarf any chariot
we send your way, your passage
from horizon to horizon
will always remain a mystery.

This ekphrastic poem, inspired by an image from Astronomy Picture of the Day, is in response to Day 11 at napowrimo.net, where we are asked to “write a poem about a very large thing.”

 Images
Astronomy Picture of the Day – A Space Station Crosses the Sun © Wang Letian
Wikimedia Commons – Helios and His Chariot (The British Museum)