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 Andrew Newell Wyeth entitled Christina’s World.
Christina’s World
Christina’s world is small and filled with wanting
Out amid the autumn fields devoid of planting.
They tried to persuade her to use a chair,
But she traveled the farm without a care,
On her hands and knees.
It was a muscular disease
That afflicted her and brought her low,
In Christina’s world the imagination managed to grow
Beyond the grey farmhouse
She traveled quiet as a mouse.
To far away worlds and distant shores
A captive mind that seeks and explores.
People pitied her sheltered life,
She would never be a mother or a wife.
But the tragedy wasn’t as sad as it seemed,
Because in Christina’s world was where she pondered and dreamed.
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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I really like this one; it is a beautiful, haunting painting and you have done it justice ! it is good to find a new, compelling voice 🙂