Day 8 Highlights
The prompt on Day 8 asked you to write a poem based on one of two paintings: “Piazza d’Italia,” by Giorgia de Chirico, or “The Little Deer,” by Frida Kahlo….
The prompt on Day 8 asked you to write a poem based on one of two paintings: "Piazza d'Italia," by Giorgia de Chirico, or "The Little Deer," by Frida Kahlo. To see the paintings, go to: http://www.writersdigest.com/poeticasides/April+PAD+Challenge+Day+8.aspx.
Many of the poems added stories to the actual picture. I think this may have been one of the more effective ways of dealing with this prompt actually. Also, there were quite a few who twisted the two paintings together in their poems, which was very cool to see.
Here are my highlights.
*****
Little Deer
Little bleeder,
you were dying,
before you even knew,
primitive Kewanee
with your doe innocent eyes
so human, staring back,
majestic. Your pomp,
and surety startles in oils
just as it did in polaroid,
And the trees,
they surround your feminine stance,
pluck from you your wiles,
your masquerading tongue
that speaks of men and madness,
seas brought to froth by spite.
This branch I lay before you,
nothing but a trap
to keep you,
intrigue you from your winter
leaving.
And Fellini, just what
would he make of you?
So pretty, so disdainful and wry?
I'd bet he'd fill you,
side to side,
with arrows,
just to spite.
Kevin |kevintcraigAT NOSPAMhotmail dot com
*****
The Little Deer
Why have you taken refuge in the garden?
Being around trees increases the risk
of being struck by the lightning snapping at the sea and sky.
Oh, you are wounded, that's it
and you figure it doesn't make any difference
how or when or where you die,
it's going to happen anyway.
The hunters—oh god, am I one of them?—stalk nearby and know
there is no safe place, not even among the branches promised to shield you.
You could outpace those who want your crown for a mantle piece.
Instead you stand and stare and wait.
Cathy Sapunor |cathsapAT NOSPAMyahoo dot com
*****
Piazza d'Italia
Alone at dawn in the piazza,
he and I.
We meet at last;
No turning back.
Sue Bench |hd_ultra_96AT NOSPAMyahoo dot com
*****
Piazza d'Italia
We met upon a
Yellow Street
Beneath a pea green sky,
Nearby small scale Alps
Cast shadows long and high
Banners waved on building tops
The breeze was easterly
Business was concluded
Between my friend and me
We shook hands good-bye
Albeit solemnly
And as I wandered home again
Beneath a darkening sky
I realized that the architect's
Perspective was awry
SaraV |slvinasAT NOSPAMyahoo dot com
*****
Frida Kahlo
What lies within
a mind
or
heart
sometimes
bleeds red.
Emily Blakely |ecblakelyAT NOSPAMmsn dot com
*****
Piazza d'Italia
Their paths converged in the piazza,
One walking east, the other west,
When their eyes noted the other,
Alighting their faces with recognition.
Their paths had parted decades past
After a shared history
Of childhood? war? college years?
My vantage point didn’t allow for hearing.
Their paths converged in the piazza,
And friendship, knowing no boundaries
Of time or place or years without contact,
Allowed them to pick up where they’d left off.
Kevin D. Washburn |kdwashburnAT NOSPAMmac dot com
*****
The Little Deer
The little deer
Fiercest of all
Ran through the forest
Ran by the falls
Ran over the mountain
And across the desert sands
Ran and ran
In search of the blesséd land.
But people were unhappy
With the little deer’s quest-
It stirred up chaos
And caused unrest.
They hunted and taunted
And tortured the fawn
They shot at it with arrows
From evening until dawn.
But in the light of day
They always disappeared
Hiding their deeds
From those who they feared.
And by this light
The little deer traveled on
With the strength of a lion
And the spirit of a horse
Each arrow in its hide
A pincushion of remorse
But it did not stop
It did not hide
The little deer sought
The thing few would find.
It kept going and going
Head held high
It would reach its destination
Or a porcupine, it would die.
Anahbird |anahbirdAT NOSPAMhotmail dot com
*****
Piazza
They no longer come
To see the statue
The train doesn’t stop here anymore
The piazza, once swollen with crowds
Stands empty in the late afternoon shadows
It is agreed
No one cares for art
The train passes by
On its way to the city
Where the rides turn
The dice are thrown
Music blares from every open door
Car exhaust fills the cracks in the sidewalk
Where people talk loudly, but not to each other
Yet in the piazza
The only voices
Are the echos
Of two men
Saying goodbye
Ang |angie5804AT NOSPAMyahoo dot com
*****
The Delivery
They shook, and it was a done deal.
He would deliver the lion by train,
On a hot yellow evening
When the shadows stretched long
And the arches of the buildings
Kissed the windows, shuttered
Against the coming night.
The people prepared for the spectacle,
Flags waving gaily on the highest tower.
Amanda Caldwell |mailAT NOSPAMamandacaldwell dot com
*****
A Gentleman’s Agreement (Chirico inspired)
“I’m going to see a man
About a horse,”
He responded when asked
Where it was he was going.
To my ten-year-old ears,
It sounded plausible enough.
After all, he was a farmer—
A dairy one but still,
Even Holstein milkers
Could free up a stanchion
To accommodate a horse.
Of course, the reply wasn’t literal,
But in my childish mind’s eye
An agreement was all but struck.
He’d drop a few Ben Franklins—
He always liked carrying hundreds—
Into the horse owner’s hands
And seal the deal with a handshake.
Why then did an equine
Never show up in our barn?
I guess I never quite understood
The wink that always accompanied
Grandpa’s facetiously coy response.
Kathy Kehrli |theflawlesswordAT NOSPAMgmail dot com

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.