I found myself watching your face.
Some saw there a blizzard of loss.
I watched ‘til the dark cooed with grey.
I found myself watching your face–
for I must have flowers, always.
Some say that nature takes its course.
I find myself, watching your face.
Some see there a blizzard of loss.
Inspired by: Lisa Hartmann’s Form – Museum, 2018, the 45 symbols of which represent the architectural design of sections in various museums devoted to one particular artist.
Symbol: #9 of 45
Poetic Form: In honor of the artist represented by #9—the French Impressionist, Claude Monet—I wrote a triolet. This French poetic form consists of 8 lines of 8 syllables each; the first line repeats as the fourth and seventh lines, and the second line repeats as the eighth. I changed the lines very slightly in my poem.
Process: I did an image search of Monet’s work and was immediately struck by “Camille on Her Death Bed,” 1879. My poem incorporates little bits of direct quotes (I could only use 8 syllables!) from Monet and John Berger. It was the latter who described the painting as “a blizzard of loss.” There’s a quote from my mom in there, too!