The Artist



The Artist

Thin words
Brush wash the page
Leaving meaning's hinted hue

The horizon
A faint, sketched, stretched metaphor
Separates the grounds

A brush dipped
In rhythm and rhyme
Works the page

Wet, punctuated words
Literary litrality
Brought to life
The artist's focused, poetic detail,
Imagination's landscape, taking shape

Storm clouds
Mixed, dark mood shades
Broken by
Sharp, sudden, slanting
Light soliloquy
Illuminating eloquence
Landing, where
Soft shadows
Cast their own simile
Dancing, dappled implications
Of light and shade

Poignant pigments
From a palette, plucked
Then spattered on the onomatopoeic ground
Where the colourless and the colourful
Meet in a single, silent, smudge

Bold brushes
Casting deep, dramatic strokes
Fine tipped, added
Texture, tone
Subtle synonyms, entwined

A brush works
Thick, dripped,
With riddle and rhyme
Until
The work of words is done

Unframed, hung, among
The artists' many masters

The artist
Unrecognized,  unsung

About this poem

I wish that I could capture the beauty of the world around me, by painting. I can't. So I try to paint with words instead.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Written on September 09, 2023

Submitted by nfowke on September 24, 2023

51 sec read
58

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABX CXX DEB ADXFX XXXXXXXXFXX XXXFX XXXXX XDEXC GX XG
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 981
Words 168
Stanzas 10
Stanza Lengths 3, 3, 3, 5, 11, 5, 5, 5, 2, 2

Naomi Fowke

An artist who loves to paint with words more…

All Naomi Fowke poems | Naomi Fowke Books

2 fans

Discuss the poem The Artist with the community...

3 Comments
  • Symmetry60
    Thank God you can't paint lest the world be deprived of such astonishing imagery.
    LikeReply4 months ago
  • Vixility
    Naomi, once again, what an incredible and imaginative piece!

    One of the virtues I find in you and your poems are their utter uniqueness. I knew immediately, by that very style of yours, that this work of art came from the brush that is your pen—painted not with acrylics or oils or other gelled dyes, but rather with words and symbols and various other poetic devices.

    Fascinating piece, simply fascinating. So happy you’re sharing your works.
     
    LikeReply6 months ago
  • marshallfaine
    Between the alliteration and the vivid wordplay, this poem captured the energy of an artist creating something with passion and verve but by painting with words.
    LikeReply 16 months ago

Translation

Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Citation

Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"The Artist" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/170844/the-artist>.

Become a member!

Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

April 2024

Poetry Contest

Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
3
days
21
hours
5
minutes

Special Program

Earn Rewards!

Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

Browse Poetry.com

Quiz

Are you a poetry master?

»
The repetition of vowel sounds is an example of _______.
A rhythm
B repetition
C assonance
D rhyme