 Sea Sprites in Flight, by John Anster Fitzgerald (Britain) 1860 Editor's note: Dear Readers and Writers, It is a personal passion to share art that invites inspiration and imagination, or takes you down an unexpected path. I love to see what each ekphrastic prompt stirs inside of you. It is a joy to read through your entries. The challenges are a very special part of The Ekphrastic Review because we get to look at the artwork through so many diverse voices at once. As always, it is difficult to make a selection from the entries we receive. We value everyone's participation and hope the experience is meaningful for you. It's my personal mission to attempt to strike that fine balance between supporting our most faithful participants and making space for new ekphrastic voices! I also seek to represent unusual or original readings of the art, and of course, poems or stories that are standout works of literature. While we celebrate the wonderful works we publish, sadly, there are always many amazing entries that are left out. As more people join us, it becomes more and more difficult to narrow things down to a handful of responses. We are very grateful that so many people are practicing ekphrastic writing and finding the secret doorway into art! We have compiled a long overdue menu of past challenges and the responses. You can browse that archive by clicking here. It is a work in progress, so please let us know about omissions or errors. Please share this post of poetry and stories in your Facebook groups, on Twitter, in your newsletters, or with your mates. The more eyes that fall on the work of our writers, the better. Thank you for helping to make that happen. love, Lorette ** Stay With Us Your skin is the colour of the sea. You often helped seafarers to survive the storms. Seers of the oceans, powerful and benign. Your gifts are many. Water sprites or naiads, you breathe both water and air. For many generations now the land creatures feared you. Those who wear the white hoods, whose skin is the colour of sky, will drive you back into the sea where they say you belong. They say they won’t rest until your heroic stories are no longer told. Rose Mary Boehm Rose Mary Boehm is a German-born British national living and writing in Lima, Peru. Her poetry has been published widely in mostly US poetry reviews (online and print). She was twice nominated for a Pushcart. Her fourth poetry collection, THE RAIN GIRL, was published by Chaffinch Press in 2020. ** Sea Sprites in Flight We take wing, over the brine, and out and away; over places where even ships do not go (or seldom, seldom), and places known only to hidden creatures and us. When we are on the wing, I and my brothers and sisters, we whisper and croon to the waves, and the foam; we try, in our way, to offer comfort, lay balm on the sore spots – those places coated in tars and oils, patches of land/not land made from the detritus of man. Sore it is, sore on our hearts to see, sore on our spirits to feel, and on our ears to discern the cries others do not hear – the plea for release made by our cousins below, our kin of fin and scale. And we circle on in hope, casting our meagre magic in places, whispering love to our mother, the sea, crying for help from our father, the sky. Imelda Maguire Imelda Maguire, Donegal, Ireland, has had two poetry collections published - Shout If You Want Me To Sing (Summer Palace Press, 2004) and Serendipity (Revival Press, 2015). She is also published in a number of journals and has read widely at festivals and events throughout Ireland. ** Sea Sprites in Flight Wait for the salt air to stagnate, then watch from the prow as they cavort like mayflies rising from nocturnal streams. Sprites flutter and dissipate in sea mist. Their vision inspires near-belief—ephemeral like a persuasive dream. You know better than to alert your mates. Still, you linger for a time wondering how that strange world could belong to your more familiar one, although normally curtained in shadows that guard us from the ruin that might come through clarity—unless we’ve been prepared by some sad exhaustion or loneliness, and honed despair has pierced and opened us. Joseph Chaney Joseph Chaney’s poetry has appeared in The Nation, Crazyhorse, Dogwood, Prairie Schooner, Stoneboat, Spillway, and other print journals. Recent online publications may be accessed at The Apple Valley Review, South Florida Poetry Journal, Valparaiso Poetry Review, The Cresset, and Off the Coast. Chaney is the publisher of Wolfson Press at Indiana University South Bend. ** The Sea Sprites’ Secret We know you humans don’t believe in us – Your disbelief affords our best protection. You rule the earth while overhead we fly Or swim beneath the sea without detection. Yet, though we try to keep ourselves apart, We heed the call when frightened hearts are pounding And frantic voices fade to pleading gasps Of “Help me! Help!…I’m druh…I’m druh…I’m drowning!” Few sailors dare to tell the barmy tale – I warn you now, they’ll blame it on your drinking Should you describe part-fairy dragonflies Who pulled you from the waves as you were sinking. Sweet dreams as you lie resting in the sand And wake respecting creatures unlike Man. Alarie Tennille Alarie Tennille was born and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia, and graduated from the University of Virginia in the first class admitting women. For Alarie, looking at art is the surest way to inspire a poem, so she’s made The Ekphrastic Review home. She was honoured to receive one of the Fantastic Ekphrastic Awards for 2020. Alarie hopes you’ll check out her poetry books on the Ekphrastic Book Shelf and visit her at alariepoet.com. ** Silkie* by the Sea D’ye ken there runs not blood but brine between my bones? “She swims like a fish or mermaid,” they said o’ me. I shook my hair out till it covered every part and took my comb intae my hand and held it close up tae my heart, or combed the seals and kelpies on the long, long strand. They say that silkies come frae far, but I was born right o’er there in yonder land, where my ane mother-- home hersel’ frae far awa’—sang lullabies, sweet and low tae me. My father too was gone awa’-- a fisherman, all out tae sea-- and kenned not how my mother fared. A fisher-lad down on the shore came after me who loved my yellow hair and swore he’d heard me sing The song of silkies frae of yore. “You’ll not,” he said, “be long, yoursel’, upon the land. Come, live wi’ me, and I shall gi’e tae thee thy ane wee babe: a daughter by the strand.” I lived wi’ him. He was my love. I nursed my we’an upon my knee and sang, all low, the lullabies my mother taught tae me. But soon I had to leave-- I had to swim the faem, ye ken. I had to go way out beyond far Sule Skerry-- a silkie by the sea again. One day, as sure as sun shall shine on every stane, I’ll back tae hame once more and fetch my bairn tae me. And she shall have her ane wee lass, another silkie by the sea. And fisher-loons will weep and mourn that ever they had daughters borne or rocked their cradles on the shore. Lizzie Ballagher * In Orkney folklore, a creature called a silkie is half man, half seal, coming to shore only to bring a woman a purse of gold for raising up the child he fathers with her. The consequences are always tragic for the woman. For when the boy comes of age, he too goes to sea to join other silkies; and she is left to mourn alone. In this retelling, however, I imagine that silkies are female, and that it is the men who mourn their lost wives and daughters. Ballagher has travelled widely and lived for years in different countries, an experience that has seasoned her poetry, though she is also glad (now past her three score years and ten) to be writing at home again. This poem celebrates the love of her Scots-Irish heritage in music and story. She blogs at https://lizzieballagherpoetry.wordpress.com/ ** Sea Sprites Lament My family is icy blue cold. There is even a demon within us. It thinks we can’t see or hear it, but I can. It has driven you away. You are fiery hot red with translucent chartreuse wings. I often wondered when you would spread those wings and glide on the waves of time; Instead of being frozen, stuck, on this island of ice; with me. Flying away, you are now free to go as you please, please, please, please remember me. I crave your burn even though it melts me to nothingness. I do not look back as I fly away from you. I force myself to keep my eyes focused forward. I know not my destination, but I do know that your blue, beautiful, smooth iciness will only be destroyed by my spirit of flames which only grow when we come close to being joined as one. So I am opening my wings wide and soaring with waves in this warm crimson dress that you once unrobed from me, your fingers melting melting melting away as my flames flickered with heat for you. Goodbye, my love. Your cold is smooth and strong; Look to the Waves with Wings And Remember My red hot soul That loves But refuses To Destroy You Goodbye, my love Your heat is flaming, fearless, Look ahead to adventures That await you; My steadfast hard Body of ice Awaits your Warm Glowing Return Lisa Molina Lisa Molina holds a BFA from The University of Texas at Austin, and has taught high school English and Theatre. She was named Teacher of the Year by the Lake Travis ISD Education Foundation in 1992. She also served as Associate Publisher of Austin Family magazine. Since 2000, Molina has worked with students with special needs. When not reading and writing, she can be found singing, playing piano, attending art exhibits, or hiking in nature. She finds firmly believes that art and nature are essential to the life of the soul. She lives in Austin, Texas with her family, books, and cat. Her poetry can be read in Trouvaille Review, Beyond Words, Ancient Paths Literary Magazine, Down in the Dirt, Indolent Books, Sad Girls Club Literary Magazine, and Eris & Eros Review with poems soon to be featured in Amethyst Review. ** Touching an Invisible Seam Our home of sea green depths and blue haven skies has been a hidden refuge in the milky white ethers. A transient, hovering existence, I have always felt safe within this whispered mist of shadows and light, where my winged sisters fade and glow with the transparency of clouds. Thoughts and wishes of mortals appear to us like floating orbs of smoke. We pass them back and forth for light sport, always returning their circle hope outlines to earth, sun-streaked and flecked with gold dust mirth. Nothing is ever spirited away in our world, merely borrowed, elevated by joyful intent, embellished with whimsy, adorned with a hint of star-split particles. Today, we sprites take flight, seeking shelter in the low-lying mist, as we transition from one magical upper world to another. Just beyond those mountains, we travel to another emerald-hued seascape. Before human hands can break the spell, touching the paper-thin skin of myth, we flee and soar. We breathe the feathered air of a royal wind. We rise to meet the invisible seam of earth’s vaulted ceiling. Cristina M. R. Norcross Cristina M. R. Norcross is the author of 8 poetry collections and is the founding editor of Blue Heron Review (2013-2021). Her most recent book is Beauty in the Broken Places (Kelsay Books, 2019). She has a new poetry collection coming out with Kelsay Books in Fall 2021. Cristina’s poems have been published in: Visual Verse, Poetry Hall, Right Hand Pointing, Verse-Virtual, The Ekphrastic Review,and Pirene’s Fountain, among others. Her work also appears in numerous print anthologies. She has helped organize community art and poetry projects, has led workshops, and has also hosted many open mic poetry readings. Cristina is the co-founder of Random Acts of Poetry and Art Day. Find out more: www.cristinanorcross.com ** Alongside a Kaleidoscope of Kelpies Last Friday, February at the cusp of crepuscular nimbostratus overhead dark, foreboding growls like great Aslan ferocious, threatening enough to entice Danu Mother of Sea Gods: to rally her wrath of towering spring tide of helical teal waves with spit from white foam over undercurrents of torment to extricate ochrophyles pungent in extremis for stricken sub-mariners: of helmets, no armour losing aquatic battles agin Serpents with venom encroaching their surf yet clandestine around rocks ozone oozing from nostrils as fangs gnash in prospect of a kaleidoscope of Kelpies: in glittering golden tresses translucent wings diaphanous frocks rebellious in their psyche for a dance of the seven veils one after one diluted into spirits of salt water as sprites of deep sea scar: dilated eyes of Kraken senescence in prospect one arm, eight appendages to drown the foolhardy venturing out into the storm dark, foreboding in a cusp at crepuscular of last Friday, February. Alun Robert Alun Robert is a prolific creator of lyrical free verse. He has achieved success in poetry competitions across the British Isles and North America. His work has been published by many literary magazines, anthologies and webzines in the UK, Ireland, Italy, South Africa, Kenya, USA and Canada. Since 2018, he has been part of The Ekphrastic Review community particularly enjoying the fortnightly challenges. He is a member of the Federation of Writers Scotland for whom he was a Featured Writer in 2019. ** Overboard Above the waters gently rise etherial before my eyes -- as if the sea could paint the air with dissipation of despair -- angelic lights amid the foam that beckon me to be at home wirh brine into which all my fear will soon so gently disappear and end torment of tangled kelp, through which I struggle seeking help that seems to, more than merely float, now rise bewinged as if to gloat and taunt the victim well ensnared by sea and storm unwisely dared. Portly Bard Portly Bard: Old man. Ekphrastic fan. Prefers to craft with sole intent of verse becoming complement... ...and by such homage being lent... ideally also compliment. ** dear sea sprites i weave myself into the waves of your fantasy a reverie unspoiled by the dull world i live in i want a pair of diaphanous dragonfly wings the wispy shimmer of their red purple green the ability to take flights when i fancy in an unbounded universe to have friends like these luminous fairies wrapped in stars how one grows wings how to find the secret shores hear the answers whispered on the wind with gossamer greetings a woman locked in a prosaic life Sandi Stromberg Sandi Stromberg is drawn to ekphrastic poetry and its invitation to plunge deeper into a piece of art. Her poems have been honored with two Pushcart nominations and received recognition by The Ekphrastic Review with a 2020 Best of the Net. On Groundhog Day, she was one of the review’s 10 poets honoured with the 2021 Fantastic Ekphrastic Award in honour of her contributions to the genre. Her most recent publications include The Ekphrastic World, San Pedro River Review and The Ocotillo Review. ** Where The Wave of Moonlight Glosses The Dim Gray Sands With Light -- W.B. Yeats (after J.A. Fitzgerald's Sea Sprites in Flight 1860) Sprite: A faint flash, sometimes emitted in the upper atmosphere over a thunderstorm... Oxford Dictionary for Mexico On the night the past backlighted frost crystals melting on the gowns of the women who took pride in being silver everyone knew our wings were imaginary. The clouds, tinted by storm, took the shape of a woman's head her wings disappearing in darkness -- thunder's wild promise ready to crack the shadows so the moon could spill onto the sea resembling egg whites separated into waves before the rains come, whipping waves to froth -- a fantasy in meringue to cover the artist's unconscious meaning as he illustrates what sea sprites dream in an illusory world, land and water where time doesn't exist so everyone is late, you see, and no one knows the beginning or when to leave, the hour of return that divides us: the women in silver with diaphanous wings who decide to play it safe, grouped on dry land the point of both earth and sand, as Yeats said the beach down from the Rosses where he heard the fairies' voices -- Come away. Part human, I looked back at the silvering women -- flashes of light, that night -- when the moon made the sea a candescent mirror for the sea sprites, and art created wings for me before I flew, romantic, into the danger of the storm. Laurie Newendorp Laurie Newendorp lives and writes in Houston, Texas. Nominated for Best of The Net by The Ekphrastic Review and one of ten Fantastic Ekphrastics, her recent book, When Dreams Were Poems, 2020, explores the relationship of art to poetry. The title of the poem, as noted, is a line from a poem by William Butler Yeats; the epigraph is the second of three definitions of sprite.
** Above the Breaking Waves Above the breaking waves the sea sprites soar: bathed in moonlight, they hasten toward the land singing fey songs above the ocean’s roar. Afloat among some swirling clouds, are thousands of tiny sprites in glittering gauzy robes, and one in flight, with flowers in a hatband, glides, dips, and spins -- her alluring face aglow. Into the starless night she disappears, and while waves pound rocks, the clash and din echoes. Crossing surf and sand, the sea sprites veer toward cliffs, where sleepers dream of fairy lore, charmed by otherworldly sounds they hear. One by one, the sea sprites come ashore, but soon they vanish -- gone forevermore. Gregory E. Lucas Gregory E. Lucas writes fiction and poetry. His short stories and poems have appeared in magazines such as Blue Unicorn, Ekphrasis, Blueline, the Horror Zine, and in the Ekphrastic Review. ** Summoning of the Sprites Still night, small waves, clouds disperse into a crescendo of sprites on their stroll from the stars following the scent of the leaves, speaking to them about the turning of the season. Smoothly gliding over the ruffled sea, they do their ritualistic dance while one calls out to the other, leading to a soulful serenade of the celestial singing a divine melody. Following one after another, the seraphic beings excitingly descend from the heavens and disperse to fulfil their art which is as old as the ocean itself. Mary Elizabeth Bruner Mary Elizabeth Bruner is a 2019 graduate of Wofford College (English/philosophy) and is spending a dedicated year writing poetry to explore her passion for language. She currently lives in Greenville, South Carolina with her dog, four cats, and nine chickens while working at a local bookstore as a bookseller and barista. ** Games the Fairy Folk Play Sprites bite the hand that reaches through the veil, twist fingers till they snap, wind hanks of hair about the reeds till the rushing river weaves with weeds, and the blood of the scalp’s tearing will be there, raw in the morning, bald proof, and their laughter’s echo ear-ringing like the shells of the sea. The good folk skim the night with teeth as bright as bone, and their black hounds the huntsmen whip from baying at the moon from snapping at the necks of swans. I never should have played their game, but the moon was too bright to see how their silver faces were black with lies, and they’d sung you away from me. Jane Dougherty Jane Dougherty lives and works in southwest France. Her poems and stories have been published in magazines and journals including Ogham Stone, The Ekphrastic Review, ink sweat and tears, Nightingale & Sparrow and Brilliant Flash Fiction. Her poetry chapbooks, thicker than water and birds and other feathers were published in October and November 2020. ** Un-Spritely Old wings, a bit stiff. I no longer like the sea as in my youth. My sisters know- therefore I am pushed forward, no rest or reprieve; I plunge unwilling into icy waves, echoes of my past flow beneath, detritus of memory darken depths. Wind roughs my skin, abrasive cold shocked weary, wings outstretched; I will go under on this flight, let current take me while sisters fly about, let go the vessel of my soul, sea shall cover me, chill blanket, reclaim youth in memory as wings weigh by measure of deep, saturate, sink. I am un-spritely now, rest is near, wings relaxed, I am but sea mist. Julie A. Dickson Julie A. Dickson writes Ekphrastic and other poetry forms as well as taking regular workshops. She serves as membership chairman for the Poetry Society of NH. Her poems span from nature to current events, from teen issues to captive zoo and circus elephants. Journals such as The Avocet, Poetry Quarterly and The Ekphrastic Review are home to her work, among others. ** Sea Sprits They look so much Like human butterflies Or flying fish Rising from the sea. They look like They can feast On nectar The flowers On shore. Were they born? Or were they Once fantastic Pollywogs? Emory D. Jones Dr. Emory D. Jones is a retired English teacher who published poems in such journals as Voices International, The White Rock Review, Free Xpressions Magazine, The Storyteller, Modern Poetry Quarterly Review, Gravel, Pasques Petals, The Pink Chameleon, and Encore: Journal of the NFSPS. He lives in Iuka, Mississippi, with his wife, Glenda. He has two daughters and four grandchildren. ** Sea Sprite Fairies The Moon rose to fullest bloom above the salty spray. Calling to the Sea Sprites, to join in midnight play. Wings were quickly speckled with iridescent foam. Fairies rode the crest of waves, on that liquid loam. Diving through blue water, to the seabed’s sandy floor, they gathered chalky seashells to bring back to the shore. Sang their sacred songs to fishes who swam into the fray. Waltzed with an octopus, who joined their wet ballet. All night the sprites surfed that starry moonstruck sea, till Dawn brought an end to their evening ocean spree. Moe Phillips Poet/writer/content filmmaker Moe Phillips lives in Lambertville, NJ. Her children’s poetry has been featured in The Caterpillar. She also has six inspirational pieces in multiple issues of Bella Grace Magazine. Four of Moe’s poems have been published in Written Tales. As a writer/producer, Moe has created a series of poetry films for award winning poets as well as penning and producing her own verse for The Wild Bird Fund’s film entitled Heroes. The elements and elementals are her inspiration. ** Chimeric Have I been abandoned, or have I been seized? Who whispers in my ear? The shadows grow talons, teeth, wings, merge with the unchanging twilight. I was told that the ocean was benevolent, protective. Why then do I find myself startled amongst these waves of fear, a changeling among shapeshifters, uncertain of what my senses mean? Held motionless by invisible threads of borrowed energy, I hover between the liminal layers of other realms. I can no longer grasp who or what I might have been. Coral crowns sparkle in a luminous nowhere. Are these transparent creatures merely projections of the frayed edges of my mind, a floating vessel that threatens to plunge me into the restless depths of the unknown? I hear the remnants of voices calling, summoning me to swim back through the veils that thicken with each breath. I try to transform the disintegrating shapes into a familiar landscape, one with sun, earth, trees, home. stilled between crossings untethered to mortal time-- figmented, redreamed Kerfe Roig A resident of New York City, Kerfe Roig enjoys transforming words and images into something new. Follow her explorations on her blogs, https://methodtwomadness.wordpress.com/ (which she does with her friend Nina), and https://kblog.blog/, and see more of her work on her website http://kerferoig.com/ ** Indigo Horizon Walks at the beach with you: Salt air nipping the skin your sweatshirt couldn’t cover; Sea spirits on the horizon, supplanted by the sunset; Topaz sand and bee balm seeds, I could brave the sea with you. But the light always dimmed, The sun always abandoned us, And the Daylilies always retreated. And so we chased the moon. J’espère que tu t’enfuis encore. I hope you still see the shadows Of flowers in the dark. Niko Malouf Niko Malouf: "As a teenager living in Los Angeles, I enjoy writing about the things that surround me, stimulate me, the events of my adolescence as well as the happenings of the world. I hope to share my experiences and perspective with others and inspire them to do the same." **
1 Comment
CECIL CLARK
3/10/2021 02:15:17 pm
Outstanding work by M. B. Bruner. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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