Ekphrastic Poetry

This is the poem I submitted for the Toledo Museum of Art Poetry Contest, which is a contest where you have to write a poem based on one of the selected pieces. If you win you get a year long membership and a cash prize, as well as your poem displayed next to the piece i think. Included is the tapestry I wrote my poem off of. :)

THE GIRL WITH THE THORN IN HER SIDE

I am marrow wrapped in silk and fur,

I grace the back of fury and

I speak the same language

as the snapdragons

I was raised by,

I wear the jaws of my children

as a crown of vengeance.

Staring into the face of

absurdity, I feel no fear,

rather singularity,

something I find in the roots

of the vines that grow up my spine

and reach behind my eyes

into the divots of my skull

searching for something quieter,

though I have never contained silence.

There is a crying scraping the sides of my face,

the birds pecking at my ears

scream a song of war,

I listen closely and utilize the lyrics

as a mantra of strength. I have risen

and fallen

and I will rise again,

carried by the mossy untamed undergrowth

beneath my feet.