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July 23, 2015

Poetry Friday--"Wait!"

Click to enlarge. © Diane Mayr, all rights reserved. "Young Woman Watering a Shrub" by Berthe Morisot (1876) courtesy The Athenaeum.

This painting is oddly puzzling. Doesn't the patio floor look wet? Doesn't the woman look overdressed for doing tasks around the house? I can only imagine her as "wasting time." She may be watering a wet plant because her mind is occupied by thoughts of an assignation--one she has prepared for much too early. Or, she could be dragging her feet--delaying a social obligation she isn't looking forward to. I could be totally off, and she is simply a house maid, forced to wear a heavily petticoated uniform, shoes that are inappropriate for the job, and who is obeying her mistress by making sure everything is just right for the evening's soiree. This is why I like writing ekphrastic poems--I get to imagine a scenario based upon a work of art. I'm never confronted by the "I don't know what to write about" problem!

Now it's time to head over to Margaret's blog, Reflections on the Teche for even more poetry!

14 comments:

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    1. Yup, this one is based on personal experience!

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  2. It does look wet, Diane, but I think she has some sort of apron/cover on. It is wonderful to imagine, but I understand perfectly. I've delayed going somewhere I was not excited about by doing chores that easily could have been done the next day. I think your poem has such a voice today!

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  3. I can relate to this lady...the delay tactics, not the dressing up and primping. :-)

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  4. I like your interpretation. Maybe one more can of water and I'll miss the darn party altogether.

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  5. I love how your imagination works. I'm pretty sure that is not the direction I would have gone, but it makes sense. Thanks!

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    1. As my late mother would say, "That's why Howard Johnson's makes 28 flavors." We're all different. Does anyone else have fond memories of Howard Johnson's peppermint stick ice cream?

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  6. Diane, I love the leaps you make here! What an intriguing painting. I may just have to write on it myself. :)

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    1. Oh please do! Maybe we can do a challenge--post a painting and everyone comes back with their take on it.

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  7. I canNOT imagine you at a loss for a poem subject! Thanks for sharing this intriguing one this week. (I don't know that I've ever been ready early for anything, at least in recent years.) ;0)

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    1. Truthfully, I work better if I have something in front of me or if someone says, "write about..."

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