Blackboard

Because I am an overachiever, I decided to extend my Ekphrastic poems into the month of May. 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 Homer Winslow entitled Blackboard.  

Blackboard

I should have married Oscar

When he asked me to.

Bottled up my dreams and placed them in a jar

But what is a girl with ambition supposed to do?

As for me, I broke all of my mother’s golden rule,

I went to work in a country town teaching school.

One room with thirteen desks,

A blackboard, chalk, and an eraser.

I stand humble and statuesque.

Attempting to make myself bigger

These farm boys are taller than me,

And I’m trying to teach them geometry.

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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