Ephrastic April 2019, Day 14: "La Notte"

Augusto Giacometti was a Swiss artist I hadn't come across before. I love what I've seen of his work and will look for more. I think his epitaph says it all: Qui riposa il maestro dei colori--"Here lies the master of color." (To see a vivid example, click here for "Eruption of Aetna.")

"La Notte" (1903) by Augusto Giacometti [1887-1947].

with hopes of seeing
the northern lights

I climbed to the top

and when I saw them, words
wouldn't come--I was left
with only my tears


© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.

La notte is the night in Italian. The banner on the woman reads ogni vivente loda il signore, which translates as "every living thing praises the lord."


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.