A floating room, half refuge, half gamble—
canvas propped where river light
spills and trembles,
as if the water itself were painting.
The boat rocks, but steadiness is found
in the rhythm of brushstrokes,
green dissolving
into blue,
blue into a veil of silver air.
He leans into the shifting world,
making a studio out of drift,
a place
where lilies whisper,
where banks blur into breath.
Here, the silence is crowded—
with reeds, with sky,
with the endless undoing of form.
What is fixed? Only the hand, only
the stubborn faith
that beauty can be anchored
in the trembling skin of water.
The boat drifts on— but the image stays,
light moored in pigment,
forever caught
between departure and arrival.
Photo credits: Claude Monet’s “The Studio Boat,” fair use.
Posted for Poetics: Reflections, Reflecting @dVerse Poets Pub
32 Responses
So many beautiful lines in this poem, Sanaa. I love that you made it present tense.
“a place
where lilies whisper,
where banks blur into breath.”
A gorgeous, meditative poem, Sanaa! 💙
Thank you so much, Merril 😍 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
(and thank you for the lovely prompt) 🥂
Stunning image of the life within the painting. I especially the ending where we are caught between departure and arrival.
Thank you so much, Bjorn 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
This is such a stunning ekphrastic poem, Sanaa. I love the opening stanza, the river light spilling and trembling ‘as if the water itself were painting’, the use of colour in the second stanza, the artist ‘making a studio out of drift’ and ‘light moored in pigment’.
Thank you so much, my dearest Kim 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
<3 <3 <3 Sanaa, one of your best yet. It gives me a lump in my throat.
Thank you so much, Lisa 😀 so glad the poem spoke to you 💄❤️
Your poetry grows and grows. Compact, glittery, delicately veiled and painted fine.
Thank you so much, Brendan 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
I like that stubborn faith and resilience – it gives a little permanence to the world arounds perhaps – and stunning images also – Jae
Thank you so much, Jae 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
Beautiful!
Thank you so much, Jay 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
Very lovely!
❤️❤️❤️
This is a delightful depiction of the painting experience.
Thank you so much, Robbie 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
In particular, I like your final stanza. There is a flow and rhythm to it that just works:
forever caught
between departure and arrival.
And then these two lines. It’s kind of where the reader always is. Or the viewer of a fine piece of art. Mother, enter on another poem discuss the idea with the viewer is a time traveler, looking at a piece of art and for you here, it’s as if you’re saying, “no, the viewer is caught. Time has frozen.” Thank you very much.
Thank you so much, Aaron 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
Saana, your poetry transports me into the magic of the painting. This is amazing writing!!
Thank you so much, Colleen 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
Lovely. I like the contrasting images you painted in your poem, e.g., “the stubborn faith
that beauty can be anchored
in the trembling skin of water”.
Thank you so much, Imelda 😀 so glad the images spoke to you 💄❤️
Your words paint an inspirational interpretation of the artwork, Sanaa!
Thank you so much, Lynn 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Hi Sanaa, I recently read two books about Monet and your poem captures wonderfully the painter and his muse. <3
Thank you so much, Jennifer 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
I love, “a place where lilies whisper.
A gorgeous poem, Sanaa!
❤️❤️❤️
A delightful, meditative ekphrastic, Sanaa. Love it! 💕
Thank you so much, Punam 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️