By Kenneth A O'Shaughnessy
Art is designed to evoke a response. Sometimes that response is wonder, sometimes envy, sometimes revulsion, and sometimes, more art. Ekphrastic poems are poems written about another kind of art, like film, dance, or painting.
In the poem below, I write ekphrastically about two kinds of art: the art of the drawing artist, and the art of the Creator.
The drawing below was made by 10 year old Anya. It depicts her naturalist younger brother examining a caterpillar he found.
The poem pays tribute to the artist by using her initials as the acrostic for each verse, and relates her drive to draw to the way she was created by the first Artist.
And if I be lifted up, I will draw
Lines that define a world created
Dividing light from darkness
And the earth was without form
Light made shade and shapes appeared
Darkness directing the eye to light
And God made man in his image
Lifting up a stick figure with his finger
Dust filled with artistic Spirit
And God saw that it was good
Loving what he had made for himself
Despite its imperfections
And if I be lifted up, I will draw
Like the artist who created me
Doing what I was drawn to do
Kenneth A O'Shaughnessy is a freelance writer and poet living in the upstate of South Carolina with his wife and four children. To find his daily poetry entries, log onto:
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