I Am Anaya Poet Ekphrasis

Notes About The Poem

1492 Poetry Contest
Sponsor Brian Strand
3rd Place

Pyramid of Peace Poetry Contest
Sponsor Ink Empress
2nd Place

An ekphrasis poem inspired by the artwork Zdzislaw Beksinski (art number; BE84, 1984) 

*Psalm 34:20 in the Bible: “He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken”  

Inhumed in a Nuclear Eclipse

Kiss me when the sun sleeps
when the blazing sun doth rise,
hold my trepid skin timorous 
with a requited reassurance
we’ve not been broken
of soulmate incarnate
ecstasy within our grasp
of this comes beautiful
hold me tight, my love

Nirvana’s desaturated shade, awaits 
soft pink and warming gray, above
behind a burning turmeric glow
under an apocalyptic sky 
brawn banished, lips silenced
after every word is spoken 
sanctioned skeletal forms 
melded are two mortalities
fusing into one metaphor 

birth of man, woman, death infinite’s 
earth, wind, fire, water embossed
no diener for dystopia 
only death lives in destruction
crimson deserts recreated
 ashen corpse servant  
no hand his bones shall fall 
sealed is our eternal love 

our homeland a morgue
ossified cartilage caresses
immortalization in 
pulverized sand dunes
touched by the flurries
of vaporized gold dust clusters

opportune eyes fell upon
excavating earth organs ripped open
evil befell the resilient relentless
by all that glittered gold
golden buried stones
by the arid drones
our existence erased
no genogram depiction,
not relevant to treatment
ashen of undying souls
are there more lives,

…what do you think?

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Alison A Smith nee Howarth August 3, 2026 at 4:15 PM And so like Zdzislaw Beksinski you to leave your words to the reader …what do you think? Well done. I Am Anaya August 4, 2026 at 1:34 AM Belated ty, Alison! I'd hoped it'd work, left open, yes. 😊

Paula Goldsmith August 1, 2026 at 1:19 PM Congratulations on your win. I enjoyed reading your wonderful "Inhumed in a Nuclear Eclipse" write. Have a blessed day with your win............... I Am Anaya August 4, 2026 at 1:31 AM Belated ty, Paula! Delighted you enjoyed this epic read! T.C. 🌸

Sotto Poet August 1, 2026 at 2:58 AM Hello there! You have laid out an explosive mass of insightful words on your selected topic. You created something ferociously alive and unstoppable by combining elemental wrath with old legend. A formidable poetess you are! There are a lot of images of fire at the climax. Congrats, Anaya, on your podium win!🌹🙏 I Am Anaya August 1, 2026 at 7:48 AM Ty, Sotto, Yes, Beksinski's work did inspire fear or dread: archaic art, yet the lovers embrace symbolic took me to the otherside, where Nirvana awaits their eternal peace. Ty for the lovely rose & blessings! 😊

Ink Empress July 31, 2026 at 11:35 PM Congratulations on your win. Sending you light.

Ink Empress July 31, 2026 at 11:35 PM This is a very soul hitting powerful take on the artpiece ~ I especially love the opening lines here with your use of my prompt line, it really flowed well, and is very touching and poignant! Theres so much depth in this, I especially love also “ only death lives in destruction crimson deserts recreated ashen corpse servant” sigh I feel for the world right now. I think the last line is a bit abrupt, but ofcourse your intention might be to get readers to express their thoughts? Pleasure reading I Am Anaya August 1, 2026 at 9:15 AM Ty Ink Empress for the placement! I appreciate your sponsoring and creative romantic genre & contests. Our roots run deep in the forest, we are the trees of life, emotional and spiritual roots yet evil is also in our DNA's lust for power & the gold, oh the gold, I thought I'd express that here in a dystopian world. I appreciate your light. Blessings

MOHIT MITRA July 31, 2026 at 9:34 AM Dear Anaya, The line that continued to reverberate after I finished was "sanctioned skeletal forms / melded are two mortalities / fusing into one metaphor." That is the poem's quiet fulcrum. Until then I was seeing devastation; from there onward I was seeing love become ontology rather than emotion. Your ekphrasis does something I deeply admire: it refuses to describe Beksinski's painting and instead discovers the hidden silence the painting cannot utter. The closing question does not seek an answer; it leaves the reader carrying its weight. A profoundly imagined response to an unforgettable work of art. In the grace of words, Mohit Mitra I Am Anaya July 31, 2026 at 11:03 AM Hello Mohit, I am pleased to read your review and grateful you pointed out the line of the point on which it pivots. I'm honored and yes the artist left us with an untitled piece as well as our own interpretation of the lovers embrace, a haunting 1984 oil-on-hardboard painting from Beksiński’s “Fantastic Period,” depicting two skeletal figures locked in an eternal, fiery embrace. The artist famously refused to give it a title or explanation, insisting that “meaning is meaningless” and inviting viewers to project their own emotional interpretations. Ty, Blessings

Silent One July 20, 2026 at 12:27 PM I think wow, what a masterpiece... This reads like a winner to me dear Anaya... you really touched my heart and stirred my emotions with this one... We all need a love that persists through apocalypse, death, and erasure.. sadly it is so rare... right? True love is when people decide to stay and keep choosing each other, time after time... There are so many romantic lines I admire like, Kiss me when the sun sleeps and when the blazing sun doth rise... sizzling hot! I Am Anaya July 20, 2026 at 12:59 PM Dear SilentOne, I shall not take credit for the prompt, but my "when the blazing sun doth rise" and so forth on . Right you are! I'm overjoyed to see you, its been a busy summer~ blessings

Karen Jones July 20, 2026 at 5:31 AM Wow! You are a powerful poetess! The conclusion full of fire imagery and a question that’s genius! I’m sure Inky will love it! Best wishes in the contest Anaya! I Am Anaya July 20, 2026 at 1:01 PM My sweet friend, I always look forward to your reviews, inky inspired contest~ yes. Ty KJ. Blessings

Hiya Sharma July 15, 2026 at 8:27 AM Oh this is so achingly haunting and visceral in the sense of imagery, it's so rich with artistic vocab and meticulously word-weavinh,.dear Anaya.. i especially love those lines "touched by the flurries of vaporized gold dust clusters" wow.. absolutely evocative and makes me think deeper. A love that is so timeless and bound by eternal flame of fate,.clinging to each other in cacophonous lifelines.. creatively done for the artwork. Sending you light and best wishes, good luck in the contest. I Am Anaya July 15, 2026 at 10:01 AM Hiya, a haunting thing war can be, so destructive, gold's greed all of blame. I was touched when I first saw the painting on Ink's poem & the poem of course & felt a need to write of it with my voice of advocacy & call it serendipity, she was very generous to prompt it as her contest. Ty for such a lovely review, it's so good to see you, poetess shine on bright star *

Victor Buhagiar July 15, 2026 at 3:10 AM Haunting vision of love. Your imagery and emotions astound me. I Am Anaya July 15, 2026 at 6:14 AM Ty, Victor, an astounding visual of a couple's last moments.

Sam Kauffman July 14, 2026 at 12:23 PM Anaya, powerful as the volcano that took these lives. I think your art piece comes from remains found at Pompei with husband and wife clinging to each other cradling their infant. Truly we have been on a path of self-destruction since we heard the gates of Eden close behind us. For me the true mystery of life is that God has never left us and still cradles us in arms of grace. I wrote a song called Mystery that can be found on the Jericho Road album. Sam Kauffman Topic You Tube. Blessings! I Am Anaya July 22, 2026 at 7:01 AM Thank you for sharing your beautiful music, Sam, your are very talented. xo Sam Kauffman July 17, 2026 at 12:03 PM Greetings Anaya! I'm so glad you enjoyed Mystery! It is one of my favorites and, to me, a powerful statement of God's mysterious love for us. So honored to be compared to the Enchanted Voices! Thank you! You made my day. Blessings to you! I Am Anaya July 15, 2026 at 6:08 AM Beautiful song about our Lord, Sam. You've such a lovely voice, made me think of the Enchanted voice. It's very emotional, tearing up . You are famous! Love your music, uplifting I Am Anaya July 15, 2026 at 5:39 AM Untitled, 1984. This work is a stand-out example of Beksinski's dystopian surrealist style. Beksinski famously refused to title any of his paintings or provide official explanations, preferring to leave the interpretation entirely to the viewer's soul. He painted what he described as "photographed dreams", I read. Pompeii a good interpretation, 79 AD . I will hear your song shortly, Sam. Ty. Blessings

Yann Rolland July 14, 2026 at 8:21 AM are we committing suicide , question for every human, this is a powerful poem, thanks poet anaya I Am Anaya July 14, 2026 at 9:14 AM Yann, it was a powerful art piece that has empowered my imagination, the end of days shall be of our own destruction. Unless our hearts turn to love. Ty poet. Blessings

Sara Kendrick July 14, 2026 at 4:23 AM A sad contest entry which is very expressive and emotive for the contest. It reads like a good contender to me. Way to go. Thank you for sharing your work with us. soup mail soon.Sara K. I Am Anaya July 14, 2026 at 7:56 AM Yes, very interesting how we all see the destruction from greedy mankind, in our nature to want more and be punished for it. The end of the world is sad to think about and yet we do it. Ty Sara and a million thanks for the soupmail, much appreciated. Blessings

Paige Hind July 13, 2026 at 6:40 PM this left me hungry- in all the hollow places, beautiful, Anaya I Am Anaya July 13, 2026 at 8:24 PM That is deep of you Paige, wish I could fulfill more of both our hallow space with poetry. Ty, Paige.

sara Etgen-Baker July 13, 2026 at 3:48 PM these lines struck a chord with me: our existence erased no genogram depiction, not relevant to treatment ashen of undying souls are there more lives, just wow I Am Anaya July 13, 2026 at 5:31 PM Dystopia is a serious ponder, very scary stuff to wonder. Ty, for the read, Sara. Blessings