Poetry Sisters Write Ekphrastic Poems

One thing we can count on as we make our annual poetry plans is that ekphrastic poems will be in the mix. We usually share photos with one another and often will write to a photo that is not our own. Since our theme for the year is transformation, I posted photos related to an exhibit at the Montclair Art Museum entitled Transformed: Objects Reimagined by American Artists. I've seen this exhibit twice now and am endlessly fascinated by it. Here is the plaque that describes it.

I love that it was inspired by this note Jasper Johns wrote in his sketchbook in 1964.

Take an object

Do something to it 

Do something else to it

The inspiration for my poem is a piece from this exhibit entitled Conversation, created by Marie Watt, a contemporary artist enrolled in the Seneca Nation of Indians. This work is made from reclaimed wool blankets, satin binding, and thread.

There is so much I love about this piece, but the mathematics of the shape has captured my attention. Here's my poem.

Möbius Magic
  impossible shape
  two sides, two edges -- transformed

  this infinite curl

  one surface, no boundaries

  where math and art collide

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2023. All rights reserved.

You can read the pieces written by my Poetry Sisters at the links below. 

• Tanita Davis
• Mary Lee Hahn
• Sara Lewis Holmes
• Kelly Ramsdell
• Laura Purdie Salas
• Liz Garton Scanlon
• Andi Sibley

Would you like to try the next challenge? Next month the form we are tackling is the etheree. This is a ten-line form that begins with a one-syllable word and grows by one syllable each line until you arrive at line ten (which has ten syllables). You can learn more about this form at Poetry Magnum Opus. We are still working on the theme of transformation. We hope you'll join us. Are you in? Good! You’ve got a month to craft your creation(s), then share your offering with the rest of us on March 31st in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems!  

I hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference. Happy poetry Friday, friends!