The Ekphrastic Review
  • The Ekphrastic Review
  • The Ekphrastic Challenges
    • Challenge Archives
  • Ebooks
  • Prizes
  • Book Shelf
    • TERcets Podcast
  • The Ekphrastic Academy
  • Give
  • Submit
  • Contact
  • About/Masthead

Four Stages of Grief: An Ekphrasis of Rothko's Quartet, by A.R. Williams

7/5/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture
Untitled (Green and Maroon), by Mark Rothko (USA, b. Latvia) 1953

Four Stages of Grief: An Ekphrasis of Rothko's Quartet
  
I. Green and Maroon (1953)
 
A dense, swirling haze
whispers sadness,
its uneven edges dressed
in deception.


Beneath, a smaller ardent block
simmers silently,
bleeding down the frame
in rebellion,


divided by a sliver of
fragile calm--
a mere illusion.


The denial of the agony
that stews
underneath, cannot
endure.
Picture
Untitled (Ochre and Red on Red), by Mark Rothko (USA, b. Latvia) 1954

​II. Ochre and Red on Red (1954)
 
You drift in a sea
of rage, deep enough

to engulf, yet shallow
enough for steps. A thin

shaving of slippage divides
the wading from sinking.

Believe me: the deeper
you plunge, the more

you float. Oppose it,
and watch yourself

be engulfed, like paper
claimed by fire.

Picture
Untitled (Green and Tangerine on Red), by Mark Rothko (USA, b. Latvia) 1956

III. Green and Tangerine on Red (1956)
 
In the heart of the divide
tangerine embers 

smolder and midnight emerald
fog looms

overhead, thick with
unspoken vows.


This liminal space
eludes negotiation.
You cannot
control the uncontrollable,
nor make sense
of the senseless.

 
Instead, venture into
the dark clouds; discover their

surprising translucence.

Picture
Untitled (Orange and Red on Red), by Mark Rothko (USA, b. Latvia) 1957

IV. Orange and Red on Red (1957)
 
Coral fades into crimson
on scarlet, as  

numbness deepens
into withdrawal,  

spiraling into despair.  
Layer upon layer, a climax
of weight. You selected your sunset, 


painted in the hues
of your culminating

act— prematurely, time severed.
Now, we must navigate  
acceptance of
a journey interrupted  

before reaching its final stage.

A.R. Williams

A.R. Williams is a poet living in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley (USA). He is the editor of East Ridge Review and author of A Funeral in the Wild (Kelsay Books, 2024). 
​
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    The Ekphrastic Review
    Picture
    Current Prompt
    Picture
    COOKIES/PRIVACY

    This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies.

    Opt Out of Cookies
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Join us: Facebook and Bluesky
    @ekphrasticreview.



    ​
    ​Archives
    ​

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    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 [email protected] 

  • The Ekphrastic Review
  • The Ekphrastic Challenges
    • Challenge Archives
  • Ebooks
  • Prizes
  • Book Shelf
    • TERcets Podcast
  • The Ekphrastic Academy
  • Give
  • Submit
  • Contact
  • About/Masthead