Laurentine G Poet Ekphrasis

Inspired by Death and the Maiden by Egon Schiele

it's a strange line we walk 
     what we deem comfort -
  renewed perspective 
                      makes me shudder

I willingly lay in the arms of Death 

     who am I when not cocooned ~
               I fear I could be the emptiness 

   my own screams of warning
                    fall on deaf ears

     I need this moment

            this moment that will strengthen me
        validate my existence 

        I know better than to cling -
   my fingertips touch only my own
I'm grounded in my body, eyes open
 both within and outside of this beautiful horror

      though held in place by it

        thankful - 
             as Death has much to do 
    how precious I must be to be in his hold

    I listen 
       to 
    his
      heart 
    beating
 it's there ~
       da dum      da dum      da dum
     its disconnect from life, so palpable 
want and rejection 
       the two sides of the coins
   I turn over in my pocket
          knowing one day
        they will weigh my eyelids shut
     because after all
           I am the co-conspirator 
      of every cold embrace

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Sara Kendrick March 22, 2026 at 5:48 PM I think you have given rise to what the artist might have been thinking while creating the work. Thanks for sharing your take on the art. Sara K Laurentine G March 22, 2026 at 11:02 PM It's hard to know, sometimes I have written a second time on the same painting and got something entirely different - thank you for stopping by :)

David Kavanagh March 22, 2026 at 11:02 AM The depth in in this piece is quite visceral and gentle LG, the acceptance of deaths embrace is present yet strangely alive, as indeed it can only be witnessed from a living perspective, A beautiful horror! if such a thing exists, it lies within your poem, outstanding Ekphrasis! Cheers David Laurentine G March 22, 2026 at 1:33 PM Thanks David - there are multiple ways to read this poem and it felt quite haunting to view the painting - such painful emotion on their faces in what is appears to be an embrace. Let's hope there's not so much thinking time at the end. Thanks for the note of encouragement :)