The assignment is Ekphrastic Poetry. Ekphrastic poetry describes a work of art in words in a specific way. The poem must have 4 stanzas. The first describes the art objectively, the second subjectively, the third interpretively and the fourth is a turn away from the artwork towards a broader concern. The work of art I have chosen is a piece from the exhibit Shards, currently on display at the University of Winnipeg Gallery. I chose the piece I Awaken as I Come Home, by KC Adams.
I Awaken As I Come Home
Ordinary rocks protecting a fire,
ceramic pots sitting on coals within.
One rock painted by the hand of a man,
Another rusted by natures artwork.
Do you hear something? Do you hear singing?
Search until the secret is exposed.
Wild rice is cooking, and singing inside
one of the pots, surprisingly modern.
The rocks sit in protection of the fire,
Elders sitting cross-legged in a circle.
Pots hold the water, the food and the life
of another time, and yet this time too.
The music draws us closer to the fire.
Makes us examine every pot, every ash
The brilliance and the darkness of the past,
Woven with promises of the future.
