Featuring cherita!


April 4, 2019

Ekphrastic April 2019, Day 4: "Young Woman with a Water Pitcher"

Today's painting was suggested by my friend, Linda Baie:


"Young Woman with a Water Pitcher" (circa 1662) by Johannes Vermeer [1632–1675].

April morning

open the window
today there is sun

its blessed warmth
tempered by the reality
exposed by its light


© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.


A cherita is a haiku-like poem of three stanzas that tells a "story." The first stanza is one line and sets the scene. Stanza two is two lines, stanza three is three lines. A cherita terbalik is a cherita with the order of the stanzas rearranged.

9 comments:

  1. I love this a lot, Diane. I am writing 2 ekphrastic poems connected to an art show at a local museum. I like your brevity and strength here. A poem last year was from a painting of 2 old-fashioned looking brown and tan clay pitchers on a cart. Brought me to my grandparents' kitchen.

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    1. Janet, I'm interested in your experience with the local museum. Were you contacted or did you contact the museum about writing the poems?

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    2. Hi Diane,
      I am in a Pen Women group and we have a relationship with a small, but thriving art museum in a small city near where I live (near Syracuse). So we have gotten to know them. It is for First Friday and the show is a wonderful one called Made in New York. That show has been around for a while and is juried. There are probably 100 works to choose from. Last year we had a large audience for a poetry reading. That was great. So....I would see if I could reach out and make some connections at a place that might invite you and perhaps a few other local poets (or those you invite who could/would attend) to give it a try. Many of the artists came to the reading last year and were quite moved. The woman whose painting of a dancer I did wanted to purchase my other poem to give to her friend ! That was a lovely idea but I gave it to her gratis. Of course I am working on revising that poem. It never ends, I fear. I have to start on this year's poems asap. Mine are longer than your lovely cheritas. I might give that a go but perhaps combine two cheritas and see how it flows. I am not really great at forms and need to study so I can give them a better go, so I stick to my free verse and hope that those reading it, can read it in a way that is meaningful as I hear it. I love that you are doing this wonderful NaPoMo writing. Terrific inspiration and work. Janet F.

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  2. Replies
    1. I love the variety of blues in the painting!

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  3. There is more than the sunlight. I love your poem, Diane.

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  4. That's the conundrum of life, isn't it? Are we allowed to enjoy the beauty, even as we see all that needs so much work?

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