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

When I Saw the Mona Lisa, by Lisa Molina

12/9/2022

1 Comment

 
Picture
Mona Lisa, by Leonardo Da Vinci (Italy) c. 1503-1517

When I Saw the Mona Lisa

​Like ants at dusk processing in line, we finally enter the glass pyramid filled with treasures of paint and marble. The train to Paris delayed, I have only sixty minutes to rush through these hallways on this backpack-pilgrimage of my young adulthood to find her.
 
​Frantically scouring the guide to her home within these catacombs, a blur of people, paintings, and sculptures become peripheral color and light in my panicked tunnel-vision quest. I turn a corner, almost colliding with the security official. I see the crowd of craning necks and hear a mystical collective whisper of various languages as if in prayer.
 
​Without so much as brushing against anyone’s clothes, I weave my way through the throng of onlookers, like a cat perfectly navigating the rooftops of France. I find a perfect line of vision between narrow shoulders in order to gaze upon the woman I have traveled thousands of miles to meet.
 
​I hold my breath. Squint. She is so small, plain, thin-lipped. I exhale.
 
​Ashamed, I look down to the shoes that have traveled so far, but I feel her eyes on me as I am racked with guilt of disappointment and judgment. All the fame, theories, conspiracies, thefts, legends, lore, and expectations of this woman—who partially bears my name—come flooding through my being in a confusing cacophony of inner voices.
 
​Is she famous just for being famous? Just another reality-show socialite? Have I been caught in the celebrity hype that has been so carefully constructed to sell tickets to tourists? Have I, once again, committed the sin of worshipping a god that can never live up to my expectations?
 
​I shuffle sideways to see from a different angle and dare to look her in the eyes. They pierce through mine as arrows of light, burning into my retinas.
 
​All becomes sublime, suspended silence between us, as I have the sacred realization that I too, am small, plain, and thin-lipped.
 
​It is she who has always gazed upon us: without judgment, without disappointment. In her eyes, we are the masterpieces.

Lisa Molina

This work was first  published in Sky Island  Journal.

Lisa Molina is an educator/writer in Austin, Texas. She has taught high school theater and English, and now works with high school students with special needs. She loves to share her passion for reading and writing with her students,  and they especially enjoy ekphrastic writing. She is a “Best of the Net” nominee for her poem “Who You See,” published in Fahmidan Journal, and her digital chapbook “Don’t Fall in Love With Sisyphus,” published by Fahmidan Publishing, launched in February 2022. Her words can be found in numerous journals, including The Ekphrastic Review, Beyond Words Magazine, Flash Fiction Magazine, and Neologism Poetry Journal. ​

1 Comment
Robert Friedenberg
12/11/2022 11:28:17 am

Wow. Wonderful writing. Well done!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    The Ekphrastic Review
    Picture
    Current Prompt
    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.
    Join us on Facebook:
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture



    ​
    ​Archives
    ​

    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 theekphrasticreview@gmail.com 

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