Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Blossoms and Ears



The almond branches creep
across the page,
each blossom slowly opening,
as the artist moves his brush. 
In this moment his tortured spirit
is in temporary hush!
The blossoms open 
as he moves his brush.

Some hearts are born for torment,
and I see
a tree hung with sliced off ears
and twisted hearts.
He saw beauty
but it brought him
nought but pain.
The blossoms open
as he moves his brush
again and yet again.



for Sumana's prompt for Midweek Motif at Poets  United: Almond Blossoms by Vincent Van Gogh: an Ekphrastic Poem.

19 comments:

  1. wow I really love your take on this. Beautiful and powerful

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  2. For all the pain in his mind and his life he was able to create paintings that few understood when he painted them but had so much influence on so many artists over the following 100 years. His secret was that he could the world in a beauty that few could and we are so lucky to enjoy it today. Your poem captures this so well.

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    1. Oops! There is a 'see' that should be before the "the" on the 4th line.

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  3. Like the almond blossoms opening as he moved his brush!

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  4. You think this poem is weird? I think it is magical and lovely!

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  5. "In this moment his tortured spirit
    is in temporary hush!" The lines gave me goosebumps and also the description of the 'tree'.

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  6. He had that magic. How surreal of you to glimpse his life, how he transforms misery into beauty, maybe in the moment finding peace.

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  7. Yes, the painter's brush had that magic...and your magical words created yet another beautiful canvas. So beautiful, Sherry. I loved this poem.

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  8. I like how you captured a little eeriness in this. The ears of the branch and the repetition of the strokes. I think this is brilliant. Love it Sherry - not weird at all.

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  9. I love the opening lines, Sherry, the branches creeping across the page and
    ‘each blossom slowly opening,
    as the artist moves his brush’
    as if we are there, looking over his shoulder, Vincent safe in his temporary hush’. The second stanza is a stark contrast with the violence of the sliced off ears and twisted hearts hung on the tree.

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  10. Luv the renewing of the aesthetic as the blossoms open again and again

    much love...

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  11. lovely artistic flow as if the poet moves and the words are the paints, the almond blossoms show more color after the unfolding

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  12. This is an amazing work of art and your words are flowering strokes of beauty.

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  13. this really is great. i can almost feel the artist pushing the flowers open with his brush, thanks to your wonderful words!

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  14. Ah, dear Vincent! How much we all love him now, and have done for so long. Let us all take heart and think that we too may be loved more than we can ever know – for whatever our own gift (or personal genius) may be. This is such a unique and brilliant poem, Sherry!

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  15. Yes his later paintings are very reflective of his personal suffering.I hope he is at peace now. Lovely poem.

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  16. A nice read that sherry, and a good colour for you in the sky there!! My favourite part was "be saw beauty /but it bought him /nought but pain"

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  17. A tree hung with sliced ears and twisted hearts...now I wonder if that was what Van Gogh saw, too...

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