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| click to embiggen |
They gather
round the table
and gawk, chairs
pulled in tight
as a parking lot
a lute player
with the face
of a Nubian god
stalks sweet
creamy pathos
as a soothsayer
woos scry-glass
deep-throat
predictions
with machisimo
and class
but over goblets
of aching wine
the poet
struts words
hard in my eyes
his black nymphs
rock summer
to heaven
in a hot cradle
Tess Kincaid
May, 2011
I posted Banquet Scene with a Lute Player, by Nicolas Tournier, 1625, last week and had several requests to use the artwork as a Magpie Tales prompt. It is incredibly rich with imagery. Click HERE to read what other writers have garnered from the Tournier.
I posted Banquet Scene with a Lute Player, by Nicolas Tournier, 1625, last week and had several requests to use the artwork as a Magpie Tales prompt. It is incredibly rich with imagery. Click HERE to read what other writers have garnered from the Tournier.
Wow! A great piece!
ReplyDeleteI love the way you describe the scene! The last line is terrific!
ReplyDeleteYour poem is a wonderful celebration of this painting! I love the soothsayer but my heart was taken by th the aching wine.
ReplyDeleteLovely, Tess.
your words always captivate my inner most being, setting him free to dance in your creation....perfection
ReplyDeleteCaptivating painting and poem. I love the words "stalks sweet creamy pathos"!
ReplyDeleteNubia was in Africa, up the corner by Egypt. They revered the same gods we’ve come to associate with the Pharaohs, Amon, Anubis, Re etc, many of whom had the heads of animals or birds. And those who did have human faces wouldn’t have been pasty-white like the lute player in the painting. Nubians were depicted in Ancient Egyptian art as having darker skin than themselves.
ReplyDeleteYes, Jim, I realize that, but taking some poetical liberties here, since I love the sensual sound of Nubian. I like my pieces to be able to stand alone without the photo. :)
ReplyDeleteThat poem is even more delicious than the turkey + pesto sandwich.
ReplyDeleteHmmHmmmHmmm.
Wonderful, Tess. I love the mellifluous sounds here.
ReplyDeleteDelish poetry, Tess. Your words are always tasty morsels.
ReplyDeleteThis is a serious interpretation of a painting with lewd overtones, the poet's prerogative.
ReplyDeleteYour words flow with ease.
My mind played a trick on me, read,"stalks sweet creamy potatoes", must have been looking at the spread!
ReplyDeleteYou are always so inventive and clever!
"Embiggen"? Love it; that word alone was worth the price of admission. :-)
ReplyDeleteGood poem, enjoyed it a lot.
ReplyDeletegorgeous, intense, packed with sensuality, "sweet creamy pathos"- wonderful!
ReplyDelete"...his black nymphs
ReplyDeleterock summer
to heaven
in a hot cradle" Sensational!
lovely as always
ReplyDeletejust love that word soothsayer
Moving unafraid from the 15th
ReplyDeletecentury to poetic niches along
the centuries, rife with pasty
faced Nubian lute players,
as big-eyed soothsayers
induce hypagogic illussions
with the isle of Scry, this
piece simmers like dandelion
wine as a group of friends
in white hats and shirts
lie down in a meadow, spread
a blanket and quote Walt Whitman
and Leonard Cohen.
That would be "hypnagogic"
ReplyDeleteillusions, of course, one of my
favorite states of consciousness.
Glenn, what is it about poets that makes us so hypnagogically inclined?
ReplyDeleteYour poem was hypnotic. It sucked me right in and made me feel I was back in the 17th century...AWESOME! This is going to be a challenge!
ReplyDeleteI can never just read your poem once - this really is another amazing piece. Poetical license perfectly acceptable.
ReplyDelete'a lute player... stalks sweet
ReplyDeletecreamy pathos'. Oh yes!
... this is edgy! And really good.
ReplyDeletedang those last 2 stanzas are just gorgeous tess...
ReplyDeleteooooh tess i'm about to try and write a piece with this prompt and your words are buzzing in my sleepy afternoon head conjuring up all sorts of associations and words. really really nice! steven
ReplyDeleteI love your take, Tess. We are of like minds, I think! xxx way past menopause here but blood still running warm...xxxJenne'
ReplyDeleteA feast of images! The last verse has a wonderful dramatic tension between the lascivious and the sacred!
ReplyDeletelovely description of the painting.
ReplyDeletegreat poem
Willow,
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking "In the Company of the Courtesan" here.
rel
pick a masterpiece and write a poem? you did well!
ReplyDeletenow do Munch.
Tom, I love Munch. Stay tuned!
ReplyDeleteWowee- you never fail us!
ReplyDeleteSuch passion you have. Truly lovely.
ReplyDeleteHi! Willow...
ReplyDeleteThe words [Your words] are beautiful and most definitely, compliment the beautiful "Renaissance?" painting.
[I did take a closer look...]
Thank, for sharing!
D.D. ;-)
Wonderful words for this painting, that needed a few words to find a little new life.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Berowne, the word 'embiggen' is quite staggering. It makes the more common word 'enlarge' seem rather prosaic.
ReplyDeleteExcellent stuff!
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
That's an almost perfect description of the painting. I read it once, then enlarged and thoroughly examined the painting, then read it again and enjoyed it all over again.
ReplyDeleteI've probably said this before but you're bloody good aren't you? There's so much to enjoy in this poem.
ReplyDeleteI love the images here. For some reason, that last bit - rocking summer to heaven in a hot cradle - reminds me of how I felt sitting out on my dad's driveway trying to get work in the midst of a fever. I felt otherworldly & ready to just float right up to the sun.
ReplyDeleteI love this. It is so amazing how looking at the same piece of art or photo. Every one gets a one of a kind message that transpires into words of the image. This piece brought me to speak only for the girl. :) Have a wonderful week.
ReplyDeleteE
Another scintillating soiree at Willow Manor! Wit, music evoking pathos, spiritual readings, sensuality. You host the most exquisite salon, Tess!
ReplyDelete'goblets of aching wine' Love it!
ReplyDeleteWARM - not work. I wasn't trying to be a hooker in my driveway. Ha!
ReplyDeleteThanks for clarifying that point, Bug. I did wonder. Heehee.
ReplyDeleteReally lovely when I listened to it with your voice. (some words I was mispronouncing!) Thank you for continuing to not only educate, but challenge me as well!
ReplyDeleteWell done!
ReplyDeleteI loved the "with machisimo
and class"
A sensual piece, you have some way with words.
ReplyDeleteSuch a plush, lavish gathering of the arts, sweet, black and blue. As these rhetoricians of ecstasy crowd in, so your words pack in tight, crowing and cawing in a cacauphony of "wordshards" -- great fabrication there, as was "nymphsrock." Just the way I imagined those 19-year-old welfare mothers were looking at me when I played bad loud rock n roll. - Brendan
ReplyDeleteWow, love this, every perfect syllable!
ReplyDeleteRich imagery once again!
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering who it could have been suggested that you offer the picture as a prompt . . .
Tess, I thought this was a beautiful interpretation of the drawing. Lot's of possible stories...each with a different message...this was particularly soulful. I had to chuckle at myself, the second time through...I thought this might be a great start to a joke..."A lutist, a soothsayer and a poet walk into a bar....." But I can't think of a punchline...so never mind...:) Have a great Memorial day weekend. Vb
ReplyDeleteAs always, love what you did with this, Tess.
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely feast--can only imagine what desert might bring!!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely delicious...
ReplyDelete"Rock summer to heaven..."
ReplyDeleteYes, I think they might. And 'scry glass' - perfect!
i feel like it was happening right before my eyes. really like it!
ReplyDeleteLoved it!
ReplyDeletefacade
Evocative and so beautifully descriptive... you have captured the "life" in these images, Tess...
ReplyDeleteSimply wonderful, Tess. I enjoyed the thought of poets (and writers of all occasions) 'strutting their words'! And quite rightly!!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I love your word "embiggen"....
ReplyDeleteWhat a marvelous poem and the final stanza rocks my soul!
Loved the images, wordplay and sounds.
ReplyDelete..ohh clicked and embriggened too!
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ReplyDelete"chairs
ReplyDeletepulled in tight
as a parking lot"
I am in love with that!
Great piece Tess.