Three Ekphrastic poems by philipGtaylor

El Greco's "View of Toledo"

Soft and bend,

fluid as hot sap and cloud,

the hills are lithe with green

and drift as quick as riverwater. 

Don't stop, but there, at the seam

between edge and marble, the sun—

I swear I feel it on my skin as flesh!

How far to the high tower of sleep?

Breath and wend, a dip into

the curve and sheen of wine

blurring the purring as it coats earthen sheets

with darkness and sweet;

flurry of a breeze. 

Arthur Melville's "Cock Fight" circa 1900

Stark, the haunt of shadows,

scraped from stone. Yet the corners

are soft, and the few colors

glint bright as turquoise. 

Where did the wind go?

What is behind that door?

There's a light blurring through the edge,

like motion made to wait. 

Perhaps this is where the dance began,

here at the edge of noon. 

Van Gogh's "Wheat Field with Cypresses"

Hello there, you lovelies!

You're welcome to strip

clean of all your trappings

and join us! It's warm

as the gentle "hush" of a lover's lips

at the tip of your ear, and the sky

is ready to wash you clear and new,

don't bother with shoes just 

come here! The flowers

ripe and lush in your mouth,

I can hear the wind grin.