A Painter Without a Brush #poetry #dVerse

Painter without words

A painter without a brush,
that’s what I’d like to be;
a painter without a brush
or any paint:
to paint with words alone
the things I see,
without too much of artifice,
without restraint.

I’m not sure I could paint you
a sunset sky
in poetry,
and anyway
you know the way it goes:
all crimsons, lilacs, pinks,
the softer shades between
of sunset colours you already know.

Perhaps I could paint you
the sad face of a girl
jilted at the aisle, one summer’s day
you’d see a tear run down her cheek
etched like a figurine
upon the cake
uncut and moist as unbaked clay.

It isn’t my skill to paint with words
the landscape,
or the muted contours of a still-life scene:
I paint with words
the life within those forms
within the words
where truth is often heard, though scarcely seen.

© Experimentsinfiction 2021, All Rights Reserved

Written for dVerse

Laura is hosting Poetics tonight, and has set us a special challenge: write a poem based on the title of a work of art without looking at the artwork first. I love this idea of a reverse-ekphrastic, as I find ekphrastic poetry especially difficult. I therefore used the prompt to put into words my frustrations at trying to write this way. It was not an easy challenge but I certainly enjoyed it. Here is the painting ‘A Painter Without a Brush‘ by Gerhard Richter. My first thought after looking at this? Thank God I didn’t have to write a ekphrastic poem on it!

Featured Image: eroyka from Pixabay 

68 thoughts on “A Painter Without a Brush #poetry #dVerse”

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  3. your poem is poised before the brushwork with all the possibilities of subject and before the choice. I loved these lines especially

    “etched like a figurine
    upon the cake
    uncut and moist as unbaked clay.”

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  6. This is incredibly incredibly moving, Ingrid! 💝 Especially love; “I paint with words the life within those forms
    within the words where truth is often heard, though scarcely seen.” :)

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  7. Intriguing and I love the way you move the painter without brush to painting with words. I am happier to paint with words but some close friends in Spain have been learning from my artist friend this lockdown and have taken up with the brush! Your words carry or paint many emotions in this piece.

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  9. Your poem makes me want to stand up and celebrate art, in all of its many forms. Painters, writers, musicians, creators and the countless others who capture overlooked details and moments, reframing them for others to feel and interpret. 💖 I celebrate your words!

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  20. A painter without a brush,
    that’s what I’d like to be.

    So beautiful words. You have painted it beautifully.❤️

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  22. A pensive poem, Ingirid, and I enjoyed your exploreation of reverse-ekphrasis. That’s what we poets do, paint with words alone. I love the cameo of the jilted girl.

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  25. This is really good Ingrid! I love the truth that comes from within the scenes! Seldom heard!
    This is such a great image:
    the sad face of a girl
    jilted at the aisle, one summer’s day
    you’d see a tear run down her cheek
    etched like a figurine
    upon the cake
    uncut and moist as unbaked clay.

    Like

    Reply
  27. Pingback: A Painter Without a Brush #poetry #dVerse – Fae Corps Inc

  29. you definately painted the picture in my mind with your words!
    It sure didn’t look difficult reading your words but reverse-ekphrastic in words doesn’t sound appealing but kuddos to you for staying with it! 👏👏👏👏

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  31. So gorgeously done. I strive to achieve both views, but it’s so difficult. Maybe painting what’s outside with what’s inside and vice versa is a very good way to go with words, sometimes.

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