Stormy Sea

It’s a battle between umber cloud
in a fiery orange and indigo sky
and the raging sea crowned
with frosty foam – gods tossing
boats between them like toys.

And where are the buoys,
the safe places for those thrown
overboard? Who know what lies
beneath the waves, what monsters
circle? Or are the monsters aboard
the ships, ignoring the gods,
believing that they are invincible.

And that’s what artists believe.
But they make mistakes and eventually
they die. Colours, words, music, feelings stay
the same, as experienced by the beholder.
Art has its own story, once out in the world:
we see the picture, not the painter.

Kim M. Russell, 18th February 2025

‘Stormy Sea’, Emil Nolde, watercolour, paper

Today is 18th February, which would have been my parents’ 69th wedding anniversary, if they had been alive. At the dVerse Poets Pub, it’s Poetics with Melissa, who would like us to explore how our perspectives and biases inform how we might perceive art. We have two sets of instructions:

Firstly, we should choose one artwork from the images Melissa has given us, write an ekphrastic piece incorporating colour (or its lack) and any feelings it evokes, and give the artwork a story. After that, before linking up, we must head down to the bottom of the page for further instructions.

Secondly, before linking up, we should read this article about artist Emil Nolde, and then look at the art again, with new eyes. We may then choose to simply answer the following questions, use them as starting points for an ‘after’ poem, or do nothing at all: Are the colours and feelings the same? Does the artwork have a new story? And, finally, are we separate from what we create?

35 thoughts on “Stormy Sea”

  3. “gods tossing
    boats between them like toys.

    And where are the buoys,”

    Something about these lines really resonates with me. So many think they are gods, and where are the buoys? I appreciate you writing to the prompt. I love your attention to color as always. I agree, I think the art is its own entity, though perhaps tinged with spirit of the creator.

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  9. Agree that art takes on a life of its own. And also that we, as individuals, can see and feel totally different things while looking at the same piece of art. well done!

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  17. I like the aphorism at the end, which stands for all – poets as well as painters, I like the way you offer the turbulence and danger as metaphor and how we can, well some of us, rise above it.

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