The blueness is not sadness or regret,
nor the colour of a teardrop.
It is not a reflection, not the depth of her eye,
nothing like the blue of the sky.
The fan does not keep her cool,
but hides the imperfect smile,
the chipped tooth behind her lips
that snags on words she does not say.
Even the flowers on her veil have wilted,
drooping, like her eyelids, and not bridal.
Kim M. Russell, 19th May 2026
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
This week’s Tuesday Poetics at the dVerse Poets Pub is hosted by Melissa with an ekphrastic prompt featuring paintings by Marc Chagall, about whom she has shared some biographical background.
Our challenge is to choose one of the paintings and write a poem about it. An additional challenge is to use descriptors to describe the details in the artwork and tell our readers about what they are, by telling what they are not.
I chose Bride with a Fan.
writing in north norfolk 
How well you capture the mood of the portrait with the negatives, Kim! That fourth stanza is especially descriptive of her self-imposed reserve.
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Thank you, Dora!
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I really love what the blue isn’t … and blue is such a common color of Chagall… (I missed the goat though)
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Thank you, Björn . The goat?
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The goat is very common in many of his paintings
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Ah – I was looking for one in the bride image!
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Oh unhappy bride!
much love
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And much love to you, Gillena.
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I was inspired by yours to give it a try, Kim. Yours is quite beautiful.
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Thank you, Marilyn. I’m not long up and will be over to read in a bit.
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You’re up earlier than I manage. (grinning)
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I can fall asleep but not stay asleep, so I’m up any time between 6 and 6.30. Best time of the day.
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You nailed the prompt, Kim! I especially love these:
“The blueness is not sadness or regret,
nor the colour of a teardrop.
It is not a reflection, not the depth of her eye,
nothing like the blue of the sky.”
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Thank you so much, Melissa!
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I enjoyed this very much.
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Thank you!
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Ah, sad, sad. I love the chipped tooth beneath her lips.
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Thank you, Judy.
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The unspoken in that broken tooth speaks loudly – Jae
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I’m glad you spotted that, Jae.
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The detail of chipped tooth makes this so much real!
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Thank you, Jay!
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So much pain in this one, and as Bjorn has said, what the blue isn’t. You really captured the painting and depth of feeling
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Thank you, Dianne.
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Quietly devastating Kim! 👏
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Thank you, Shaun.
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You managed to describe it as what it isn’t…now we know details of her story. Great ekphrastic response, Kim!
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Thank you very much, Lynn!
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I really like the chipped tooth that snags on words.
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Thank you, Maria.
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Very nicely done…I love the not blue imagery and reluctant smile intrepretation! 🩵
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Thank you, Cara.
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she really tied the not with this poem!
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😊
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You capture her pain and stoicism so well Kim 💙
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Thank you, Ange. ❤
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Excellent poem Kim. You really put a lot into this.
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Thank you, Stew.
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beautifully captured, Kim…🤍
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Thank you so much, Destiny!
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my pleasure…
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