April is National Poetry Month! Founded in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month seeks to remind the public that poets serve an integral role in our cultural and literary history. Often labeled as the “difficult” writing genre, National Poetry Month works to encourage both the reading and writing of poems, provides resources for students and teachers, and raises awareness of practicing poets in local and national media.
This year, FWMoA’ s Teen Council decided to join the celebrations by hosting an Ekphrastic Poetry Contest. Ekphrastic poems are those written about works of art; so, we asked our community to write poems about selected pieces from our permanent collection. Below are the winners and the artwork their poem references.
Youth Winner: Odette Levan
“The Glass Boy”, after Latchezar Boyadjiev’s Embrace
Once upon a time
there was a boy
and he asked
a friend, a magical friend
who had powers,
to put a spell on him
that would make him nicer,
but it didn’t work.
But something else happened
to him. He turned
into blue glass.
He is still there
today.
1st Place: Zoë Bentley
“Embrace”, after Latchezar Boyadjiev’s Embrace
I’ve been told I’m intense.
You know what that’s like, holding your color deeply
Standing tall
Not to outdo the rest, but rather to do what feels right
Focusing only on flowing, glowing
Focusing only on your own love
You’re intense too.
You’re deep as a desert sky, holding back the edge of space
Entrancing all
Changing what we see, contrast casting all in amber
Your brilliant heart is shining, climbing
Your brilliant heart is a river of light
You seem imposing.
It’s easy to miss how you’re soft along some sides
How you’re supported from below
How the lights don’t come from within
I’ve been told to embrace who I am.
You know what that’s like, refusing to choose a shape for its ease of recognition
Forms nameless
Figures intersecting, connecting
Figures supporting and inextricable
You’re no singular story.
I see your solid presence and the delicate bubbles within
Your firmness and yet fluidity
Your simplicity and complexity
You don’t choose.
You’re both geometric and organic
Both harsh glare and gentle diffusion
Both familiar and unreal
2nd Place: Vienne Rey Didier
“Dignity Tied Up Like Kimono”, after Markow & Norris’ Spring Dawn Kimono
recess in session
primary playground romps
she stomps and wrests
try to best
the boys
at football
and all things moral
her dignity tied up like kimono
in defending herself for being a girl
at nine turns round the sun
she bleeds her first one
the mystery moon voyage
a pilgrimage of sorts
into what it means to be woman
ripe, hips wide
for birthing babies
is that what she is made for?
not quite sure
but she is convinced that the world
is not made complete
by incubating a human seed
her dignity tied up like kimono
in defending herself for being a woman
who chooses to not become mother
but mother
in other
meaningful ways
a woman who chooses
what she creates
with the body she incorporates
that is sacred home
to her soul
the womb
is a holy room
standing proud upon geta shoe
where dynasties of love and beauty
are birthed
to mother takes all kinds
of infinite shapes and lines
for there is a world of people already existing
lips parched, the love well nearly dry
a mother is a lover
and keeper of glass hearts
she fills in the fractures, suturing them back to good
isn’t that we all should
do for each other?
we are all mother
our dignity tied up like kimono
in defending ourselves as human
3rd Place: Toni Sangillo
“Germination”, after Robin Grebe’s Germination
We rock on our porch swing
after a rain
And listen to the songs of a blackbird
All the world alivens with spring
except you
Wither until frail as a baby blackbird
I bury my heart, that grievous thing
with you
Taunted by the songs of a blackbird
Perched by your grave, I cling
to my pain
Awe when you fly away, a blackbird
Out of mid-flight, by the wing
I snatch you
Replace my heart with my blackbird
In my rib cage, germinating
I keep you
Until I die and become a blackbird
And fly away with you
This is truly beautiful. I am in awe.