...could've done

as badly myself

eyes scoffed 

feeling mocked 

and offended...

but didn't you

was the honest

deflection of 

voices in chorus

of course not 

why should hands

waste time and

for what was 

the objection...

lacking in impulse

to live intro spection

that raw impasse-

sensitized film of

self conflagration

and bleeding of

communication

...senseless yes...

yet felt to perfection

#ekphrastik #challenge

Unclothed

Unveiled

Unafraid

Unashamed

She shows of the pure natural beauty

Of a the woman's form

But a conservative eye

Forces her to cover them

Yet the strokes of her brush

And her ever clever mind

Secretly reveals what was never hidden

The image you see above was photographed when the county I currently live in held a weekend event called Art Wander, where local artists, potters, and sculpters alike can show off their amazing work. This one was from an artist named Courtney Miller Bellairs. I spoke to her and she revealed that originally the women in much of her watercolored paintings were nude, but due to the county being pretty conservative, they told her that she couldn't put those in libraries. So, she came up with the idea of using paper to help make dresses and clothing for the women. I chose to use this image to reveal the real beauty of her work, and to show that true art does not need to be censored.

#poetry #painting #art #nude #women #censorship

Awkward.

What is she asking?

Is she afraid as she speaks?

Dif she fear her mistress?

Did that dynamic of fear exist?

Perhaps that is her Juliet

And she brings her Romeo's note.

Perhaps that is her Ophelia

And she delivers her news of Hamlet.

Peerhaps that is her Miss Hilly

And she is asking for money for her kids.

Perhaps that is her Hellen Keller

And she is teaching her to read despite her shortcomings.

Perhaps I am just overthinking a beautiful painting

That sits in the shadow of a pearl earring three hundred years later.

Haunted me for years, this picture.

A gathering of clowns.

Meeting on a coastal road,

A young father in motely leads his daughter.

An old clown presides over a greater clan.

The men talk shop.

Giggs that can be had,

Dangers on the road.

While the junior members

Take a break from the day’s progress,

Let their minds wander.

A young boy, hides a small box from the girl,

Wants to get her attention.

A teenaged girl, sits,

Dreaming of some handsome prince,

Who’ll carry her away.

They are all on a crossroads.

Wandering where to go,

What to do with their lives.

They are labeled a family,

But in that, it seems,

They are all alone.

Perhaps this is truly the greater family.

The family of the unknown,

The family of the uncertain.

Hungry, tired, worn.

On a road that does not take you home.