High School students from a summer writing camp, Words With Wings (organized by the Missoula Writing Collaborative) visited the Wood Engravers’ Network Triennial Exhibition and Dramatic Movements: Frederic Remington’s Early Engravings, 1882–1893 at the Montana Museum of Art & Culture in July and wrote Ekphrastic poems inspired by their favorite works. You can see the exhibit through September 17, 2016. We’ll be sharing the poems along with images of the engraving “muses” each week. Here is the first of ten:
Author: Sophia Casey
Art & Artist: Midnight Snack, Sylvia Portillo
As the moon rises
animals scurry about
looking for safety.
But the owls are lurking for prizes
flying from branch to branch
looking for a meal,
listening for ruffling leaves.
In the distance
a young mouse squeaks
not knowing the dangers of noise.
The wings of night
hears the calling
and immediately goes to it
as quietly as he can.
The young, cute, fuzzy creature
just about makes it to his hole
when he hears the silent sound
of wings flapping
In a split second, the flapping stops
and there is a silent moment
almost too silent.
Suddenly the talons of the hungry beast
close doen on the mouse
and all the sound you can hear
is the mouse’s feet
leaving the ground.
Here is a new poem from a Words with Wings student, Griffin Kinch, inspired by They Hade Made The Woods
The early twilight sky illuminates the vast plain.
The two men, covered in darkness, run towards the bright rim of the sky.
Leaves crackle, twigs snap, and high grass sweeps.
Slowly pouring over a boulder, a brook carries onwoard.
Leaping to the inviting bank, the two stranger continue.
A slight rustle of leaves travels through the leafy trees.
The strangers are gone.
Wonderful! Thank you so for sharing – it’s great to see the prints are inspiring poetry!