Road to Oldfields

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 artwork. This Ekphrastic poem is based on a painting by Walter Anderson entitled The Road to Oldfields.  

Road to Oldfields

We walk under a tunnel of trees

A shady path into town

I feel weak in my knees

No one else is around

I tremble as your hand reaches for mine.

A flutter of hope takes flight in my chest

The birds overhead chirp a passionate song.

You ask me if I want to stop and rest

I know your intention, and I don’ care if it’s wrong

I don’t hesitate because your touch is divine.

Afterward, I have time to regret

Under the blue-green canopy of shady shields

And you become distant and light a cigarette

As we trudge down the road to Oldfields

I’m confused by your emotional decline

Less is more, they always say,

I wish I would have known before we started our walk

That all you had in mind was a little play.

Now everyone in town is going to talk

About what we did on the road to Oldfields in the bright sunshine

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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