They’re sending out bird machines pasted to the sky over a smoke-filled collage of clouds and burning buildings. In the silence of departure, on a pathway of storms, I turn away from the life I’ve known towards the unforeseen, tangled in bare branches, winter, all of it retreating from a world that contains no escape.
Between the above and the below, floating uneasily, ghostly silhouettes shadow my footsteps as I head blind into a collision with the invisible horizon, held captive by a threshold that seems to extend forever.
No shelter appears here on this road of leaving.
Clinging to tattered
wings, sparrow searches for some
anywhere to land.
Merril at dVerse has given us some wind-tossed paintings to use as inspiration for Ekphrastic verse. I chose the painting below, by Joseph Farquharson, ‘Cauld Blaws the Wind Frae East to West’
K. 
It feels as though our horizons are all invisible now … unsettling not having a place to land.
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It is Helen. How lucky we are that we have not yet been forced to flee our homes. (K)
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Now if this doesn’t encapsulate the now I don’t know what does. We are, “held captive by a threshold that seems to extend forever” 😦 It seems like every time things begin to brighten, some other dark toxin invades our space.
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It does. So much to distract us from the hard work we need to do…
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A rush of emotions in the words that rush at me in this urgent verse…I am still numbed, by the horizon that is so dangerous…
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Thanks Ain. Take care of yourself.
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WOW, a gut punch and a poetic uppercut. Your second stanza is killer, incredible wordsmithing and truth to power. I applaud you. It works well for the prompt too.
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Thanks Glenn. Hard to disentangle from world events.
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This is so so strong Kerfe, bitingly sad, furiously frustrating! Excellent post my friend! Assuming the art is yours — well done… 🙂✌🏼❤️
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Thanks Rob, it is.
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Such a heaviness to the lines, akin to the plight of the refugees fleeing towards the unknown and invisible horizon. Love the artwork as well!
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Thanks Grace. The world has become one filled with refugees. And nowhere for them to go.
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You have captured the in between of winter and spring.
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Much seems to be stuck in between right now. Thanks Muri.
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This is very vivid and emotional, Kerfe. Well done.
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Thanks Robbie.
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What you said about the bird is so sad. No where for a real bird to stop and rest. How it breaks my heart.
And that particular photo is as if sketched by the hand of God. It was, I know: your hand.
Lovely poem. Thank you.
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Thanks Selma. Some of my favorite drawings are of sparrows, one of my favorite birds.
War spares nothing and no one.
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*sigh*
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Yes.
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Those sparrows looking for an anywhere. The wind is certainly blowing cold.
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It is. Even birds cannot escape the winds of war.
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Nothing can. The shells leave a desert behind.
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“Clinging to tattered
wings, sparrow searches for some
anywhere to land.” What a sad state of affairs.
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It is. We must do better.
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We certainly must!
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I was wondering what you would do with this prompt. So powerful this hybrid poem, along with your own artwork. That sparrow searching for somewhere to land. Heartbreaking metaphor!
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Thanks Merril. The world is breaking our heart more and more every day.
There were some wonderful responses to the paintings you chose.
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You’re welcome, and thank you.
People do seem to have enjoyed the prompt. I like that there have been poems written for each image I chose.
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They were all appealing.
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Wonderful!
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“ghostly silhouettes shadow my footsteps as I head blind into a collision with the invisible horizon,”.. this is incredibly potent! ❤️❤️ Fantastic response to the prompt!
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Thanks Sanaa!
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I feel it too, Kerfe. Love your sparrow painting!
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Thanks Ingrid. I love sparrows.
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I really love this one… as many others have done I think you also see the breakup of a life to flee from what you have known… very strong imagery
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Thanks Bjorn. Yes, many of us saw refugees in this painting–how could we not?
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Excellent poem, K. The artwork was a perfect match.
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Thanks!
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Beautiful bird and haiku. ❤
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Thanks Manja.
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