Time for Poetics in the dVerse Poets Pub .. Melissa has us focused on the art of Gerard Sekoto, born in 1913 in South Africa .. our challenge .. compose an ekphrastic poem!
Woman With Downcast Eyes, 1955
I carry the morning on my shoulders
heavy as the tin roof trembling in the wind
some days the dust calls me by name
coating my skin
settling in my breath
how much of this world
am I willing to swallow?
I walk with eyes lowered
not in shame but in study
I have learned to stitch hope
from the smallest of threads
a child's laughter, the blooming jacaranda
Let them say the world is unkind
let them say the load is too much
I will carry it anyway
step by step
breath by breath
learning to stitch hope from the smallest of threads is hte greatest of all lessons. - Love the poem
ReplyDeleteA moving ekphrastic, Helen. You've added a dimension of character to the portrait that's as revealing as the artist's.
ReplyDeletelove the jacaranda tree when it blooms it lights the whole world... loved your shining hope
ReplyDeleteI love your poem, Helen.
ReplyDelete"Some days the dust calls me by name" - Wonderful, Helen!
ReplyDelete