Beautiful but
eyes were always upon her.
Expectations lofty, demanding,
be they spoken or not.
To be plain
was her dream.
To walk in the everyday world
unnoticed, unknown.
She did not understand
fame’s fortune was its curse.
She never was on the inside
what the outside came to expect.
Demanding eyes
claimed rights to her body,
feasted on the outside
as her soul withered within.
Beautiful image/art created by Catrin Welz-Stein.
Created for Tuesday Poetics at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets across the globe. Today I’m tending the pub – meaning I’m the host for today’s prompt. I’ve provided folks with four beautiful images created by artist Catrin Welz-Stein and asked them to choose one for inspiration. They are to write an ekphrastic poem in the purest sense, describing the image OR use the image as motivation to create a poem somehow connected to the image. They are, of course, required to give credit to the artist. Go to dVerse, to see the four images available.
If you’d like to learn more about artist Catrin Welz-Stein and/or see more of her incredible artwork, go to https://catrinwelzstein.com
lillian the home poet 
I can really feel that gaze and what it does to her. So much can be said about the male gaze, but maybe it is all that staring that is so hard to bear.
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hmmmmm…. had never thought of the “male gaze” here…..but certainly can apply
I am just so enamored with her artwork and this image seemed haunting to me!
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This is incredibly potent, Lillian! 🩷🩷 I relate to the idea of a gaze (or gazes) constantly upon a person and how unnerving it can be.
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Exactly. Expectations…..the unwanted spotlight…..wanting at least a moment in the quiet dark.
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the magic of ekphrastic prompts is the range of interpretation, the different things poets see in the images. I love how you captured her in the dream ‘to walk in the everyday world unnoticed, unknown’. It must be awful to be ‘feasted on the outside as her soul withered within’.
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I’ve come to appreciate ekphrastic poetry more and more 🙂 And I do so enjoy this artist’s work!
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Love that the many eyes are seen as lofty expectations, spoken or not. If only we don’t “see or feel” that many eyes on us, regardless if we are plain or not. The external demands and expectations can wear us out eventually. Thanks for hosting!!!
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I always enjoy tending the pub! Glad you enjoyed my post. Oh my yes…..sometimes the expectations can truly work havoc. And to always live in the spotlight, even with for example, celebrity, must be exhausting.
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Powerful…more and more till the last lines. Interesting, also, in what I feel is slight similarities with mine. Enjoyed it very much, and “felt” it.
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Thank you so much! Appreciate it.
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A wonderful take on the picture. When you are popular or famous the public becomes leaches attaching themselves unwanted to your beauty!
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Exactly! Thanks for the comment, Dwight. I think even for folks not continually in the public eye – kids today for example, who have “helicopter parents”….college kids today who go away to school and have folks continually contacting them on social media etc. When I think of our days of growing up….all the playing outside we did with no eyes upon us and no phones continually buzzing etc. It’s a different world.
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You are right about that!
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This is a very sad, tragic poem about how beauty can be a curse sometimes. Especially for a woman because men just take when they’re not supposed to without compassion or even a morsel of empathy. Nice work!
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Glad you enjoyed!
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Gosh! Lillian! You read my mind – I had that very line “eyes were always upon her” as a first line and still might try with a slightly different twist – but in the end I went with the first picture. I love this poem…
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Thank you so much! I did enjoy your poem a lot!
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Funny, I didn’t see what you saw, and I chose the same image!
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That’s the magic and beauty of an ekphrastic prompt! So many eyes on the image and people all connect differently!
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The price folks pay for fame, the neverending scrutiny, judgement, never knowing the real depth of a person … positive or negative. A great write, Lillian.
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Thanks, Helen. Glad you enjoyed.
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I too chose this artwork. I like the direction you took this poem.
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The magic of an ekphrastic prompt. What’s that phrase, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder?” It’s so true that people can connect with an image so differently….perceptions do indeed vary!
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“fame’s fortune was its curse.”
Bravo! Nice obe
much♡love
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Ah….you picked up on one of the key lines! 🙂
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I read your post before seeing the artwork! Hauntingly described by you…
<
div>I have to wonder about the artist’s primary experience/motivati
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This artist produces amazing unique images. So many folks on the dVerse site chose this image….and as many folks who did, there are as many interpretations and views in their poems. Haunting indeed!
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A wonderful poem, Lillian. I really like this picture.
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Thank you! She is truly a unique artist!
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Yes!
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Yes, Lillian, I can see our poems being similar theme-wise.
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I don’t know if there’s a divide between male and female artists, that the attention their work brings (if they’re lucky or fated to any notice at all) becomes either a gaze at the work’s body or a gaze taking in the creator’s. Probably so though with great variation. Wonder how Welz-Stein weighs in on that, and whether as one work or the entire opus.
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She is an incredibly unique artist in my mind…..her art is featured on a number of sites. If my grandchildren were young, I do believe I would buy one or two of her prints! She is just so incredibly imaginative.
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Makes me think of movie stars and beauty queens… all eyes on them and adoration for a time, then somehow the picking apart and envious put downs start. “fame’s fortune was its curse.” Indeed.
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Exactly!
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Fame has its advantages as well as disadvantages. At times, all a person wants is just to be themselves without having to bother about others opinions. True reality of society depicted.
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I like the double meaning of this line ‘eyes were always upon her’ in conjunction with the picture. It’s a fun take.
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O the power of expectations, the being watched or even just the perception and how it can eat away.
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