The Ekphrastic Review
  • Ekphrastic
  • About
  • Workshops
  • Writers
  • Give
    • Merch
  • TERcets Podcast
  • Ekphrastic Writing Challenges
    • Challenge Archives
  • Book Shelf
    • Ekphrastic Book Shelf
    • Contributors' Book Shelf
  • Ebooks
  • Prizes
  • Submit
  • Contact

She Who Was In Love With Rodin, by Ellen Chia

2/4/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Self-Portrait, by Gwen John (Wales) 1902.
She Who Was In Love With Rodin

I have been gazing ardently 
At a self-portrait of a woman
Born exactly a century before me,
Gwendolen Mary John her name
Or Gwen John as she is commonly known.

Her egg-shaped facial contours,
Alabaster-like complexion 
And petite frame beg
At first glance to suggest
A malleable reed-like demeanor.
But when I look into those eyes -
Those eyes that are not looking 
Directly at me but penetrating
Through some glimpses
Of her heart's ruminations
Bespeak traces of
Steely detachment, of
Self-possession amidst
The world's incessant clamourings;
The voice of her thoughts 
Her only audibles, 
Her one true north.

Whatever passions that had steered
The then painted self would
In two years succeeding
Be consumed through and through
By a franco passion as crimson bold as the
Artist's own blouse.

You could say she was wilfully
Toying with fire,
One that would potentially 
Reduce her to mere ashes;
Scattering her core into
Infinitesimal bits.
Burned she did and loved.
This love, this slavish devotion 
To her Maître Rodin
Who sculpted her 
Likeness cast in bronze -
Though celebrated with fame,
Her love was not.
She, one of his many muses and lovers
But he, the wellspring of her life.

And so it was, 
as played out by
Love's cunning;
The phoenix rose
And blazed the sky, 
Only to orbit
The indifferent sun.

Ellen Chia
​
Ellen Chia exchanged her corporate heels for paintbrushes in 2007 and had since embarked on a journey from Singapore toThailand as a self-taught artist. When she is not painting, Ellen enjoys going on solitary walks in woodlands and along beaches where Nature's treasure trove impels her to document her findings and impressions using the language of poetry.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    COOKIES/PRIVACY
    This site uses cookies to deliver your best navigation experience this time and next. Continuing here means you consent to cookies. Thank you.
    The Ekphrastic Review
    Picture

    ​​Find a writer, artist, or poem, etc. by searching here:
    Current Prompt
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture



    ​
    ​Archives
    ​

    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Lorette C. Luzajic theekphrasticreview@gmail.com 

  • Ekphrastic
  • About
  • Workshops
  • Writers
  • Give
    • Merch
  • TERcets Podcast
  • Ekphrastic Writing Challenges
    • Challenge Archives
  • Book Shelf
    • Ekphrastic Book Shelf
    • Contributors' Book Shelf
  • Ebooks
  • Prizes
  • Submit
  • Contact