Okay, not starting a poem until after 8 pm is a bit of pressure to come up with something! But somehow my brain stepped up to the plate to have something to post, whew. It’s rather silly, but was fun to write. Today’s prompt was:
Write a poem that puts you in conversation with a piece of visual art. Respond to the art, describe it, or tell us about its impact on you.
So that’s what I did…
Approaching Michelangelo’s David
He stands majestic,
all 17 feet of silky marble skin, poised in that classical pose.
One hand reaching up to his shoulder, one arm hanging down,
every chiseled inch smooth and pale, so lifelike I was almost
not surprised to see him nod as I approached.
“Do you mind?” he asked as he stretched out his bent arm,
relaxed his stance. “It’s hard to stay still like this every day…”
“For 500 years?” I finished.
“You get it.” His full lips broke into a friendly grin. “What’s up?”
I paused, not wanting to be the bearer of bad tidings. “You’re
in the news again. It’s your penis.”
He sighed, running veined hands through his tumbled mane of curls.
“Not again. I thought we were over that Queen-Vicky-and-her-fig-leaf
nonsense. I thought you all would be more advanced by now. Doesn’t
everyone have genitals?”
“I’m sorry,” I shook my head. “It’s just a few religious fanatics.”
“Tell them it’s not my fault. It’s in their Bible, 1 Samuel 17-something.
David goes to battle Goliath naked. So that’s how Mikey made me.”
“They’ll get over it. Don’t let a few ignorant folks get you down,”
I said soothingly. “You’ll be standing here long after they’re gone.”
He nodded then stretched, every sweet muscle sinew moving
below the surface. “Once more before I get back to it,” he said.
He arranged his arms, his stance as he’d stood since 1504, his
head turned, his gaze towards Rome. “Just no more fig leaves,”
he mumbled softly before the marble hardened. “They itch.”
I walked around him, gazing up and admiring his exquisite form
one more time before I left. “You are beautiful,” I sighed.
I’m pretty sure I saw him give me one last wink before I waved goodbye.
Writers, if you haven’t heard of them yet, do check out the London Writers’ Salon! They are a wonderful community of writers that went global during the pandemic, and they offer free daily co-writing sessions called The Writers’ Hour, guest speakers and online events, and a membership site with active forums. I’ve really enjoyed what they have to offer!
Photos: taken from Wikipedia (sorry, just slapdash this time)
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