Ekphrastic Poetry--A Challenge

Lady in the Mirror

One of the exercises at my online writers' group conference last spring featured Ekphrastic poetry, which is merely a poem describing a work of art. The writer takes the visual and makes it verbal. There were a number of postcard sized photos laid out on a table. We each selected one and then had ten minutes to write a poem using the photo as inspiration. 

This is the poem I wrote: 

Reflection

She gazes at herself

looking so pensive,

shoulder bared,

beads falling on

snowy chemise

She ponders 

her pregnancy

just now known,

who to tell

and how.

She hates this

seed within

planted by him,

the one hired 

only to drive their car.
                   --Nancy Julien Kopp

I challenge you to write a poem using the artist's work shown below. Even if you've never written poetry before, give it a try. Free verse works well for beginning poets and those with experience, too. 

Waiting For The Stage (Richard Caton Woodville 1851)

Find other works of art to use as inspiration for an ekphrastic poem. It does not need to be a painting. Sculptures, carvings, and any other work of art can serve.