Poetry Friday--Ephrastic April, Day 13: "The Poet's Voice"

It's a special day! The doyen of children's poetry, and Guinness World Record holder, Lee Bennett Hopkins, is having a birthday! I've selected a painting by Alice Bailly, titled, "The Poet's Voice," to help celebrate. Mr. Hopkins is a proponent of ekphrasis as is evident in his recently published anthology, World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If you missed his interview on NPR, click here.

Today's ekphrastic cherita is part of the challenge I've set for myself for National Poetry Month. I'm featuring the artwork of women artists, many of whom never received the respect they deserved during their lifetimes. Each piece of art will be paired with a cherita.

"The Poet's Voice" (1923) by Alice Bailly [1872-1938].

the poet's voice

reaches the ears
of the crowd

for some an oracle
for others never getting
beyond the auricle*

© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.

Thanks to Lee for guiding listeners' (and readers') ears (and eyes) to poetry, and for helping shape poets' words so that they survive the passage to brains and hearts. And here's to Poetry Friday participants who share their love of poetry and poets!

To find other birthday treats being served today, visit Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge.


*Auricle = the outer ear