An Ekphrastic poem is a poem written from inspiration from a piece of art; photo, sculpture, painting, etc.
As a writer myself, I want to inspire myself, and others to write. A poem need not rhyme, nor even be the most polished and straight forward (poetry often may not make sense on the first read, but have meaning layered with metaphor and symbolism).
There are many ways to start an ekphrastic poem; you could directly describe the piece and find comparisons to other themes or objects.
You could work from emotion, what does the piece make you feel?
You could even tell a story about the picture. Who's the character, and how did they get there?
Poetry, and writing in general, is pretty open ended. Feel free to let your imagination explore. And don't worry about being the next Shakespeare (most people hate reading him in high school anyway). Have a little fun and if you feel the urge to write a few lines after looking at one of the pictures below, feel free to share it in the comments.
Here's my Ekphrastic poem (written just now, so don't expect anything too polished) can you guess which image inspired it? I used a more indirect method (and maybe embellished a little for dramatic effect, all writers do it).
Dust
As I sit here, collecting my dust
I can't recall the last touch
I felt, If I've ever felt one at all
My white teeth slowly gray
My joints ache with age
How I long to hear myself speak again
if just for a moment
A poem need not be long, or rhyme. It's hardly a prize-winning poem, but it was nice to sit down and write a little something today. I hope I helped inspire you to sit down and write a little too.
Add comment
Comments