Ekphrastic Poetry Series (Poetry and Artwork by Barry Burgess)

1. “Elwoody”:  7″ x 5.5″ on light sketch paper. Media: Extra Black Pencil, with orange, red, brown, and blue watercolor wash. 

swindlers run the world
morals are a farce
torture, rape, love nests
are politicians’ gamble
born truthful
they die liars
may the devil sing
Elwoody has come to collect

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2. “Birdland”: 7.75” x 9.75”. Ink and Watercolor on 140 lb Watercolor Paper. The painting inspired the poem two days later. I had been reading about birdhouses and originally conceived of a poem titled: Castles in the Air. The whimsical image led me to rewrite it in the eyes of a child.

I bilt me a tree fort
dad said the squirrel
will snatch you bald-headed
better wear a hat

my sisters ain’t invited
specially Sally who
never gave me Dots
okay cuz she hates me too

Willy and Tommy are coming over
we’re gonna feed the birds
cuz we wanna catch one
the big one with the bent beak

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3. “Carpenter”: 12” x 28” x 1.5” Collage, Pastel and Newsprint on Gessoed Masonite Panel. One of three panels in a private collection. The triptych was commissioned for a financier some years ago. I resurrected the photo to accompany the poem. It was rather fitting, the ‘Deconstructed’ face was a portrait of the financier, a la Picasso.

the wood butcher
picks up a hammer
gives-er a rip

nail heads up
pointy end down
thumb out the way

6 penny 8 penny twelves and sixteens
measure twice cut once
counter sink feels good

when tight it’s a sixteenth
if anal, a thirty-second
cain’t get no tighter than a ‘C-hair’ anyways

smokes and beers
the wood butcher falls asleep
and sets his house on fire

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4. “Sound System”: 11” x 8.25”. Ink and Watercolor on 60 lb Sketch Paper. Techno-Pop music inspired the painting and the painting inspired the poem; rhythmic, but chaotic frenzy pushed the DJ from piano to Hip Hop Turn Table.

just need keys, man
I know they in here
hit a chord
it all comes loose
flowers flew, stopped
birds in mid-air, taught
Ella to sing, Mingus to prattle
it was the only thing
that otherwise could not
be expressed without
them keys 

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5. “Subtle Tune”: 13.25″ x 16.5″. Black and Gold Ink with Prismacolor Gold and Tan Felt-Tip Pens. From Techno to Debussy, the poem came first. Following a few failed sketches, I had to delve into my art archive to find the painting, one I always enjoyed in the making.

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[Editor’s Note: Broadly speaking, ekphrastic poetry has come to be defined as poems written about works of art. In this series, the author is also the artist.]