Ekphrastic Blue

From three paintings at the Margaret Lockwood Gallery, Sturgeon Bay, WI

I need blue
ripples of blue, a sea of blue
rolling blue waves.

I want to float on cerulean,
tread in a pool of plain
middle-of-the-road blue.

I crave turquoise
with a hint of grass and sun,
and tranquil sky blue.

I want to fade into a curtain
of indigo, or cobalt,
the dusk of quiet space,

then wake to the palest of blue
in a gauzy sky
on a humid morning.

I need blue to wash away
the red angst of madmen,
the orange fire of bullets.

I need blue to wash away
the daily barrage of…
well, everything.

Give me every blue you have –
balm of blue,
blue bluer bluest.

Judge’s Comments:
A close second, “Ekphrastic Blue” moves the reader deeper and deeper into color and meaning – “blue bluer bluest” – each varation rippling with sound and image. A poem of longing, its music echoes the balm of blue, while acknowledgeing a world of both beauty and fear.

Annette Langlois Grunseth

Poet’s Statement:
This is an ekphrastic poem; a poem written about a work of art. This poem came out of a session of Art/Speaks, a collaborative project with Write On Door County and nearby art galleries. Our group was at the Margaret Lockwood Gallery in Sturgeon Bay when I wrote this poem. The key is not to try too hard, but simply let a piece of art speak to you. A blue painting, and two more next to it, caught my eye immediately upon entering the gallery. I usually go with my first hunch on what to select. Describing detail of a painting is only one part of the process for me. Where I am that day in mood and emotion also figure in the poem. On this summer day frightening news and divisiveness of our country were on my mind. Another day or time and it would’ve been a completely different poem.