. . . some arranged
some from love at first sight.
Some wooed over coffee dates, dances,
walks in the woods, saunters through town.
Some too good to be true
and they were.
In his imagination, he pictured her
a match for his gentle soul.
Someone to color his world,
hues of happiness and hope.
Ruby red lips, dark indigo eyes,
cheerful lemon-yellow everyday dresses.
She appeared in his dreams occasionally.
Magenta velvet dress swaying,
complement to his black velvet tux.
They danced together, high in the night sky,
galaxy spinning, sparkling its approval.
Their’s was a match made in heaven.
Sadly, night’s chill always ended this folly,
waking him as he reached up,
up into the nothingness of stark reality.
His hand empty, heart aching.
Would he ever find her?
Or is his dream, simply out of reach?
Too good to be true.
Written for Tuesdayd Poetics at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. Today Melissa is hosting. She’s given us images of 4 Marc Chagall paintings and asked to write an ekphrastic poem using one of them. I’ve selected The Promenade, oil on canvas painted in 1918.
An EKPHRASTIC poem is a poem inspired by an image.
lillian the home poet 
I love the POV you took, Lill, his romantic dreams as “high in the night sky,/galaxy spinning” as an imagined dance, and so fitting given the light-heartedness of the painting.
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Hues of happiness and hope. Love the alliteration.
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I love: Some too good to be true
and they were.
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I love the tone of the opening stanzas of your ekphrastic poem, Lill, so joyful and hopeful, especially as it’s from a man’s point of view and he is looking for ‘someone to color his world’ and they ‘danced together, high in the night sky, galaxy spinning, sparkling its approval’. But how sad that it was just a dream.
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May his dreams come true! I enjoyed the poem, Lillian. We have chosen the same art btw!
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I hope his dreams are not out of reach. I really like how you reacted to the dreamlike quality of this painting.
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firstly i luv all the colours you used in painting this poem, then the contrast of the dream and surreal reality of the painter’s canvas
bravo
much love
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The direction your poem takes—it floats away as if a dream. How sad, holding true love’s hand and then letting go with waking.
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Aaaa – a love never found…
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Rude awakening from a lover-ly dream as hand lets go…your poem explained the painting, Lillian!
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This got me thinking about all the lonely men of the world, maybe dreaming a bit too much and doing too little
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I enjoyed how you explored the dreaminess of the image.
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Your last lines in the first stanza hooked me “Some too good to be true
and they were.”
I think we have all been there before, perfectly worded 👌
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Love that never quite arrives. Some of us were never smart enough to be able to hold on or let go with being emotionally devastated at the time. Great write Lillian 👏
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