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. This Ekphrastic poem is based on a painting by Claude Monet entitled Japanese Footbridge.
Japanese Footbridge
There is something about my heart
That loves a bridge
In the coolness of a greening garden
Spanning restless, rolling water
Flowing past delicate lilies
Dressed in pinks, yellows, and whites.
There is something about my heart
That loves to envisage
A world with grace and pardon
Where I can be a squatter
Listening to the birdsong shrill and silly
And the water rambling beneath me at night.
Yes, there is something about my heart,
That loves a bridge
To carry me over the rough waters in life,
And transport me to the other side.
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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Bridges are wonderful. I’ve never thought about it this way.
Really beautiful.