Passionate Reflections on a Starry Night

April sunshine has given me the courage to take on the challenge of writing Ekphrastic poems. I have never attempted to translate the emotion from paintings, drawings, sculptures, or other visual works of art into words. The challenge will require me to dig deep to tap into the passions such works of art create inside a person. Most of what I write will be speculative. There will be times when I will place myself into the mind of the artist. Still other times, I will express the emotions I experience gazing at the work of art. If I get creative, I might even tell the story from an element within the work of art. I start my Ekphrastic poems with Van Gogh’s Starry Night. I called it Passionate Reflections on a Starry Night.

Passionate Reflections on a Starry Night

I don’t know why they should be surprised to hear

That a man who created the passion of a starry night

And painted the stars in yellows twinkling and bright

Would have the courage to cut off his left ear

Swish, swash the deed done

Swipe and wipe swirled and spun

Under the watchful eye of a bright half-moon

While the village below slumbered and snored

I did the deed that polite society never ignored

The stars as my witness did tremble and swoon

Swish, swash the deed done

Swipe and wipe swirled and spun

It might have been the illness spinning like a top in my head

Or that bastard Gauguin who sparked the flame

Maybe the stars in the sky should share the blame

That produced the bloody prize I lay on sweet Gabrielle’s bed

Who is Molly Shea?

Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh.  To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.

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