Ekphrastic Poetry Prompt
Fruits of Our Labor
Sweep the clouds away; there’s still life
‘The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of pleasures.’ Luc de Clapiers (1715–1747) source
Hello to our dear Paper Poetry friends,
How true is that epigraph?
The fruits of our labor are indeed the sweetest, and you have proven that again with another week of wonderful words flowing from your pens and keyboards.
Our Week 4 poetry prompt: ‘cloud’ was shortened to accommodate Valentine’s Day, but that did not deter a flurry of cloud-based micro-creations scudding across cyberspace and into our inbox. 😊
And just as no two clouds are ever the same, so it was with your poems. See for yourself. Here they are -
☁ A Winter Walk of Wow by Jenine Bsharah Baines ☁ Cloud 9 by Poetic Therapy ☁ Clouds Over a Sunburnt Country by Raine Lore ☁ Come Now by Suntonu Bhadra ☁ Nefelibata by Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar ☁ Nothingness by Indubala Kachhawa ☁ Strike by Toni Crowe ☁ The Ash Cloud of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai by Carolyn Hastings ☁ The Mystical Clouds by Setraj Jahan ☁ Thinking on Clouds by Dana Sanford ☁ Wispy by Dr. Fatima Imam
🙏 Thank you to our contributing writers — Jenine, Shadai (Poetic Therapy), Raine, Suntonu, Monoreena, Indubala, Toni, Setraj, Dana, Fatima — and yes, me, too!
Now, let’s sweep the clouds away, flex our fingers, and sharpen our minds on a fresh take at life. Yes, there’s still life! And a new prompt! Let’s take a look.
✨ Poetry Prompt Week 5 ✨
Did you see what I did then with ‘still life’?!
You can call it a segue — a pear-shaped one at that! — but it leads us into our next poetry prompt.
A still life picture prompt
Your task, if you choose to accept it, is to write an ekphrastic poem using the still life painting at the top of this post to spark your thoughts and inspire your words.
My husband painted the still life a few years ago when he was reacquainting himself with his inner artist. It was a short-lived affair, but he produced some nice pieces most of which he gave away. I saved this one for myself while I still could! For those interested in the technical aspects, the medium is acrylic on canvas.
Prompt details
Type: Ekphrastic
Form: your choice of poetry
Theme: your choice but it must relate in some way to the still life painting in the header image (please don’t write about Paper Poetry’s logo!)
Line limit: maximum 40 lines
Title/subtitle/kicker: your choice but should relate to the prompt in some way
Tags: please use W5 Prompt and Ekphrastic tags when submitting your poem
Image: one image only.
Please note: your image must incorporate a handwritten/handcrafted element in either paper or digital format in accordance with Paper Poetry’s submission guidelines.
For example, a handwritten portion of the poem, a decorative title, an illustrated version of the painting prompt. You are welcome to take a screenshot of the still life painting and incorporate it into your own graphic design, providing you acknowledge the artist, sjh, in your image credit.
Extensions: feel free to include a promotional link to this prompt, and invite (handle tag) other writers to join the prompt. Our weekly prompts are all about showcasing your poetry, so we kindly ask that you refrain from adding explanatory notes, backstories, etc. that expand upon your poem.
Submission period: February 19–25 UTC
New writers are most welcome to participate in the prompt. In the comments below, please request to be added as a writer and include your Medium @ handle; or email us at [email protected].
The next weekly poetry prompt announcement will be on February 26, 12:00 am UTC
Sign Up for Our Newsletter
To make sure you receive the announcements about our weekly poetry prompts, we encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter, Paper Poetry Sparks. Please find the sign-up form at the end of this post.
Let’s work together so we can all feast on the fruits of our labor. ✨
