i am going bananas
over my empty bag
i take out my fishing rod & reel
and cast the line over the lake
it is summer & sun
has blued & sparkled the shore
stones, sands, pebbles, low tide
i take it
crackles, bouts of silence, birdsongs, sweat
running down my back
a tremor pulses
and i reel in the line to look at my catch
is it lost door key?
is it freshwater salmon?
or maybe a lost train ticket?
nope
it is the shape of
a woman's torso
robust, unpretentious, glorious
the randomness is serendipity
the nothingness is everything
and this sits right with me:
lens of the uncertainty of the poet
The Uncertainty of the Poet
Giorgio de Chirico
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That is what I love so much about ekphrastic prompts, Grace, the range of responses and the different ways we interpret an image, despite the title giving us a huge clue as to what to write about in this one.
ReplyDeleteThe title of your poem is inspired; I’ve suffered from imposter syndrome, too, wondering if I am indeed a good mother, grandmother, wife and poet. I love the lines:
‘it is summer & sun
has blued & sparkled the shore
stones, sands, pebbles, low tide’
and
‘the randomness is serendipity
the nothingness is everything
and this sits right with me:
lens of the uncertainty of the poet’.
Art & poetry -- each with its own appeal. 😉
ReplyDeleteEkphrastcally delicious
ReplyDeleteThis is one to read several times. I love the unexpected ending. A wonderful ekphrastic response!
ReplyDeleteI love these lines you cast. You certainly caught an interesting poem!
ReplyDeleteI was caught hook line and sinker by your casting for keys, salmon, ticket - and ultimately the ekphrastic torso provided the peace-in-uncertainty that you were perhaps fishing for all along?
ReplyDeleteBeautifully done, Grace. A great interpretation of the painting.
ReplyDeleteLove the way you used the image to write this. Too bad the bust can’t fish with you exactly haha!
ReplyDeleteSometimes you just take what you've been given and work with it as you have. Quite brilliantly. I've suffered the imposter syndrome often but must admit as I get older, I have no time for it lol!
ReplyDeleteHi Grace, this is a great ekphrastic poem. I liked how the image comes through in the end as the treasure brought up from fishing. Thank you for posting this.
ReplyDelete"robust, unpretentious, glorious" sounds like the perfect fit, especially for summer!
ReplyDeleteOne never knows what the cast of the line will bring in...I enjoyed your found poetry through the lens of uncertainty. It has been extremely hot so I could relate to the sweat running down my back. sigh..at least today it is cooler.
ReplyDeleteYAY! i love that we both wrote to this beautiful work of art. funny, sometimes, what throwing out a line will bring you <3
ReplyDeleteI love the build-up and sense of expectation, which culminates in that find at the end. How it touches upon the surrealness of life, and never knowing what card you'll be dealt. Great lines:
ReplyDelete"the randomness is serendipity
the nothingness is everything
and this sits right with me:
lens of the uncertainty of the poet"
How beautiful to read - so many beautiful images gently sparkling off the page and ending so well with the torso - Jae
ReplyDelete