Never Prim
Prim
Not she
Reposed so
Raising eyebrows
She flouts decorum
A curve of thigh exposed
Draped like silk upon her chair
She dares me to risk her boldness
My paintbrush craves her devil may care
Spellbound, I tarry, swayed by temptation
The authenticity of her essence
Her rebuff of feminine bindings
My colors bow to her allure
A force to be reckoned with
She teases with her smile
My intrepid muse
Her brazen gaze
Scandalous
Never
Prim
Isn’t this an amazing piece of art? To me, Lady Agnew’s posture and expression convey a dauntless challenge to acknowledge her power, her being. I wondered what the artist thought. Did he expect a woman properly dignified, stiff, and prim? Did he love her dare as much as she?
I love these Ekphrastic challenges. Ekphrastic poetry is written in response to a piece of art. Colleen chose this prompt after seeing it on Rebecca Budd’s blog: Chasing Art.
I wrote a stacked/double etheree, which is comprised of twenty lines with a syllable count per line of 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. This poem looks like a diamond.
To read more responses to the challenge, learn about syllabic poetry, or submit your own poem, stop by Colleen’s blog: Wordcraft Poetry.
Myths of the Mirror 
What a challenging poem structure! Well done. And, yes, that woman looks like my kind of person!
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LOL My kind of person too. Just think how daring that pose was for the time! The painting was quite a sensation in London at the time and elevated Sargent’s career. I think they both knew exactly what they were doing. Thanks for stopping by, Betsy. 😀
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So avant-garde of them. 🙂
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Well done Diana!! Love the painting and the way it speaks to the viewer as you captured well in your poem!
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Thanks, Kirt. It’s such a beautiful piece of artwork. I like writing poetry for art since it makes me pause and look at a piece in a different way. In this case, I wondered what the artist was thinking. I’m glad you enjoyed the poem. 😀
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[…] inspired by the painting of Lady Agnew and Diana’s wonderful example of a stacked etheree; Never Prim. I wrote a single etheree for Coleen Cheeseboro’s weekly poetry challenge. An etheree poem […]
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I’m so glad you were inspired to write, Brad. I’m heading right over!
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I love this seen from the artist’s view …. He painted what he saw…. Great mirror etheree 💜
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Thanks, Willow. I really love these challenges from Colleen. They make me pause and think about the artwork in a new way. I’m so glad you enjoyed the poem. Hugs.
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I really did like it Sally💜💜
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I am sorry I called you Sally … And I didn’t answer your comment. I love these paintings are wonderful they make us think and really look at what we can see! 💜
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No worries, Willow. I do that too, and since we can’t fix it… we just have to smile and let it go. 🙂
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I know , I hate doing it though because it was careless of me so I am sorry 💜
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❤ ❤
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