Ekphrasis Poems | Examples

Premium Member DADA DEFINED

appeal to
    sensibilities
actualité
   truth to tell 
randomly
   selected

the absurd
riding its
hobby
art
  where
less is more

deconstructed
    outrageous
spontaneous

   inherent 
            simplicity            
gathered
in
   a happening

Premium Member Poetic Art


poetic art
a brush stroke, perhaps a word...

so daring in its galliant debut -
 onward...pulsing, pushing...

perhaps a time of remembrance...
perhaps an inkling to stir the mind...

drifting, searching...
of all the childhood haunts...
I remember your first endeavor ....

of leather and lace
Colors traced
And a sense of freedom
Through the fields of youth


Premium Member FACE

silent
      typical
visibly
       passive

an
 idealised
   profile

 so
     natural


   caressed
by
love

in
       faithful
  marital
     perfection

Premium Member HAIKU UTA EKI


traditional
   phonetic
 & cultural
      poetic

an imagist
  tristich
vertical
 or horizontal


inherently
  enigmatic
  a caesura
& surprise
ending


 a sense
  of pause
aesthetic
     insight
 flowing
   from perception

    seventeen
inherent
 onji sounds
   happening
     in
   the   momentary

 now

Premium Member MY SCAPIGLIATA

a scapigiliata
      lady
   with disshevelled
 hair
natural

  uncombed
tousled


eyes
  half-closed

mouth
  slightly shaped
in
an ambiguous
       smile
lingers
    for while
indelible
her eternal
  gaze
     imprints
memory
   forever


Premium Member NEO-PLASTICS ABSTRACT

MONDRIAN

so precise
  &
    pre-arranged
this 
     decisive
detailed
quest
   of
     the
      absolute

outlined
    in
       black

Little Kitty on a Bun

Little kitty sitting on a fabric bun,
What is that your little paws are on?
A little fishy made of blue,
it's clear it means a lot to you.
Little puppy friend by your side,
open expression, nothing to hide.
How adorable you are, all of you,
You, your fishy, and your puppy friend, too.

Premium Member BLUE NUDE IV

cut-out
a
simple
 abstract shape
 surfaces
as
 the Blue nude

the
image
triggering
stark sensations

drawn patterns
pasted
pastiche
   enssemblage
        modelled
in
abstraction


   curved
    & sevelte
so blue
so blue

nude
naked
harmony

joy
   &
     calm
in stark
shaped
     intensivity

Premium Member Evergreen in Winter

blue pines sparkle
   under snowy gray sky
      on top of voluptuous hills

      the evergreen in Winter -
   their slant suggests skiers,
and worshippers

around a bonfire - the red house.

the main house in uplift
   on the port hill
      with conifer’s oceanic tint
      
       xanthous-blue streaks
   calming round moon
forest points to the stars

and the fluffy, wet snow, gently falling

Premium Member Through a Tiffany Window

USPS Stamps Contest 7-24-25 Stamp Chosen American Treasures Louis Comfort Tiffany 2006  Tiffany believed stained glass was a spiritual experience.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Through a Tiffany Window

Touched by the whisper of a coral dawn,
Morning opens a casement portal
And steps into a garden –
A crystalline cathedral -
Where the alabaster breath of dawn
Enchants dusk
With rippled amber rhythms 
In between ascending yellows
Spoken as a love poem.

First light
Shapes daylight
Fragments of lavender
Perfume iris’ blooms
Roundels of golden petals
 Sing
With southern smiles
In magnolia blooms
Spoken as a tender sonnet in glass.

Serenity speaks in daybreak
Hushed murmurs
Of a trickling river,
Born in blue-grey mountains,
Silently slide 
Into azure waters
As opaque morning mists
Float 
Above sapphire stillness

Frosted grace 
Clothes hills 
In rounded curves of blues
And moss
Aurora’s triumph snug 
In lines of armature
The glazers journey 
Hones broken shards
Into beauty.

Premium Member Mother Teresa

USPS 2010 : Mother Teresa 100 Anniversary


Overcoming many ups and downs, 
pacing the pious path God paved for her,
Mary Teresa born in Albania 
became Mother Teresa in Calcutta.

Tormented by the agony of the destitute
she brought them to her home, 
to where she felt they should be, 
for everybody in her eyes is born equal.

She heard dedicated the divine call 
of compassion resonate within,
reverberating as the voice of the Lord 
in the dark nights of the sick.  

The benevolent soul got beatified 
and she was canonized in due time.
The ever caring mother entered 
the holy sanctum of sainthood. 

Raising her passion for the human service 
to the ethereal heights of fortitude,
she emerged in the Missionaries of Charity 
as the fountain of joy for the needy. 

The citadel of empathy she created 
decades ago with the bits of her heart,        
abandons even now the tears of the indigent, 
although she has gone to her heavenly abode.

Folded in Ink and Stars

A banner flutters in miniature pride,
stars frozen mid-waltz, stripes folding
like gentle waves—
a tiny chorus of red, white, blue.

I imagine the seam of that paper flag,
its edges serrated like hopeful teeth,
waiting to bite into air,
to sail across neighborhoods on whispered wings.

Each star is a promise—
a small light in a massive sky.
Each stripe, a pulse:
resilience, unity, churned history distilled
into red—blood, courage, sacrifice.

At the bottom: FREEDOM—
a single word anchored in gray,
soft as ash and loud as a marching drum
pressed into one corner,
a vow to endure beyond the moment.

I see letters etched beneath fingers,
penned in midnight lamps—
love letters to mothers and soldiers,
invitations to lonely birthdays,
apologies and confessions sent
with trembling stamps of hope.

On this paper flag, we bind our stories.
It’s less about the pride of nations,
more about the weight of our words
and the silent faith that someone, somewhere,
will hold that flag
and read our hearts.

Premium Member The Two-Cent Daffodil

The Two-Cent Daffodil

My Nana Pat, with a careful hand and eye,
Would've loved this stamp, a piece of sky.
Two daffodils, sun-kissed and so bright,
Held in a square of soft, creamy light.
I can picture her now, with her albums open wide,
A small world of paper and ink by her side.
With tweezers so gentle, she'd settle each one,
A small victory savored beneath the afternoon sun.
This two-cent flower, a promise of spring,
Was the sort of small treasure she loved to bring
Into her collection, a record of place,
Each stamp a new story, a moment of grace.
And though she is gone, I can still see her smile,
In this tiny landscape, worth more than a while.
For this isn't just postage, but memory's art,
A daffodil blooming in a grandmother's heart.

Premium Member Dear Lady of Shalott

Inspired by The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse

Dear Lady of Shalott, I gaze at thee,
and beauties before me, I count three
in your time and place, remote.
First, the beauty of nature’s scheme
and lush expanse of a wild stream. 
You’re lost in some sad river dream,
on your little boat.

And, yes, this gorgeous tapestry, 
and candles to guide you as you flee,
whilst you stay afloat.
Most of all your flowing hair,
flowing gown and worried stare
upon a face so mild and fair,
as you sit upon your boat. 

Who has brought you pain and concern?
Does someone cause your heart to yearn
where you sit and float?
Were you made sad by prince or knight?  
Did the painter paint your plight?
Milady, I beg you with this poem I write, 
take me on your boat.

Premium Member Luna Moth USPS Stamp

There you are exposed to the lick of a big tongue
Even though you are a soft green which is beautiful
Away you go on your journey to another country
So much farther than you could go in real life
Maybe Luna Moth Stamp you will end up in
Paris, France or The Neverlands 

Made from a high-resolution digital print 
By the artist, Joseph Scheer
Such softness to the design
Soft brown, sunshine yellow
In a gentle curved style  
I'm reminded of the morn when one lay dead on drive

Captured in print you can live on and on
Travel the world and maybe someday
Space travel will complete your journey
Or you might get stuck in a scrapbook
Luna Moth USPS Stamp life has much in store

Specific Types of Ekphrasis Poems

Read wonderful ekphrasis poetry on the following sub-topics: art, love, monoku, nature, people and more.

Definition | What is Ekphrasis in Poetry?

Poems Related to Ekphrasis

ecphrasis, greece, ode,

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