Laurentine G Poet Ekphrasis

Inspired by Dora Maar with Green Fingernails by Picasso

I consider you 
         and you ~ you cannot look away
    I never lost a finger 
as I held your gaze
             yet my hands are bloody
       as a frenetic knife
     is hit     and      miss
          madness curves 
    around lust
mystifies 
       as we enact living 
    your virility 
victim dependent 
        whilst the victim 
is still luscious beneath 
       your paint and distortion 

  you are at the bottom of the Seine
a moment of tempestuousness 
        revived in ink 
    but never found when dredged 
 worn about my person
       on untattered fingers
          a bequeathed mask of my own face

     I already existed when you created me
yet became the scratches in your dust

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Robert James Liguori May 4, 2026 at 10:28 PM I love how you close this poem with the last two lines. Congrats on second! Well deserved. Laurentine G May 6, 2026 at 1:25 AM Thank you Robert, I loved this prompt and got totally carried away with the research and was glad the poem flowed after all my reading - fascinating dynamics for Picasso that really gets locked into his paint. Thank you :)

Karen Croft May 1, 2026 at 12:53 AM Congratulations on your win! Laurentine G May 6, 2026 at 1:24 AM Thank you :)

Andrea Dietrich April 30, 2026 at 10:48 AM Wish I could write free verse this way. . big congrats on your win Laurentine G April 30, 2026 at 2:26 PM I did quite a deep dive into Picasso and Dora and got rather carried away! Thank you for the lovely compliment, I really enjoyed this prompt and got very immersed whilst writing for it :)

Karen Jones April 30, 2026 at 6:30 AM Congratulations on your win! Laurentine G April 30, 2026 at 8:48 AM Thanks Karen, I loved this prompt :D

Paige Hind April 12, 2026 at 11:26 PM This is moving. Like fingers? "the scratches in your dust" visceral work!! Laurentine G April 30, 2026 at 8:47 AM Thank you Paige :) she was doing the knife trick it's said when they met and had bloody gloves which he kept. The the scratches in dust reference is despite her brilliance and fame, she is remembered as the muse from his paintings. Glad you liked it :)

Ink Empress April 1, 2026 at 9:28 AM Wow! Im running out of adjectives to praise you, queen of ekphrasis! Honestly? This is beyond beautiful and soulfully moving! I absolutely love how youv interpreted the art and especially the lines “ whilst the victim is still luscious beneath your paint and distortion ” whoa! That hits so deep for me and theres a romantic touch to it which probably is painted with pain and so much more! How deep is this? I cant even! Youv written one that i can praise for days! Go on and on! Laurentine G April 1, 2026 at 1:34 PM Ink - you could never run out of adjectives! You literally own 50% of the worlds supply haha! I surprised myself how quickly this painting hit and I started throwing out the lines! I'm a poetic medium quietly seance styling haha! You're right - there's is romance amongst the narcissism - he apparently fashioned found items in her likeness - who knows love until they know obsession! I'll be back tomorrow for my second installment of praise lol

Ink Empress April 1, 2026 at 9:28 AM A new fave for me! Best wishes for the contest! Sending you light always Laurentine G April 1, 2026 at 1:35 PM :)

David Kavanagh April 1, 2026 at 9:00 AM Possibly one of the prettiest Picasso’s I’ve seen LG, so I definitely agree with this great line, (the victim is still luscious beneath your paint and distortion) she possesses nice green fingernails too lol! Ah you’re just too good at Ekphrasis, I’m sure Picasso and Dora, would both love your interpretation, outstanding work! Cheers David Laurentine G April 1, 2026 at 1:28 PM His muses were beautiful David and he must have been compelling as they were all brilliant in their own right - both Picasso and Dora were hard to please, so I doubt I'd get their seal of approval but I enjoyed diving headlong into the back story. I'm surprised how much I loved this one - I commend Robert for choosing it as a prompt, I hadn't seen the painting before but it's absolutely absorbing. Thanks for stopping by :)