This month’s image prompt (pictured above) is as simple as it is inspiring. I find the art style compelling and alive. I also absolutely love that one of the featured writers is a musician who, instead of writing a poem, recorded a beautiful song that is threaded with poignant ache and gorgeous emotion!
Listen to the song here or read the lyrics here.
How Ekphrastic Prompts Inspire me
I am in love with the rhythms and motion found in both the chaotic and still aspects of life. In exploring the image prompt, I discovered themes of the feminine intertwined with courage of self-declaration, bound together by the movement of the bird in relation to nature. Virginia is my home-state; its women of the past wove into my overall perception of the prompt and grounded my writing in soil.
When I write ekphrastic poetry, my first impulse is to reiterate what the image already states. I know this is not what I need to write. It has already been said. I look past my first impulse and instead focus on what the image evokes in me. I notice the emotions I feel and the past stories I suddenly remember.
The image becomes a gateway. In stepping past the threshold, I discover what I need to write.
The following is an excerpt of my poem, Virginian Woman, published at Visual Verse. I invite you to enter the writing and discover how wonderfully connected we all are!
I carry your song through
Dark winter night into March
Deceptive month!
Clouds stoke the sky
On the shores of Italy, the . . . please continue reading here and do share your beautiful thoughts!
Artwork by Susan Fenimore Cooper (1813-1894).