This evening I attended a NCWN online workshop on ekphrastic poetry, lead by Maureen Sherbondy. She offered several famous paintings as prompts and one of them was Pablo Picasso’s Guernica. I’ve been thinking about the Spanish Civil War a lot recently, so I let it inspire me. (For audio enhancement, may I suggest listening to the second movement of Joaquín Rodrigo‘s Concierto de Aranjuez?)
Guernica
Acrid air burns pustules
at the back of my throat.
Long ago I broke my sword,
pounded it to a plow.
Chose a life of fruitful
labor instead of war.
Why do those who cling
to the past insist
with their bullets
that none may progress?
Why does war come looking
for innocence?
Bartholomew Barker, Poet 
Love the poem, and the music comes as a quiet stream in a desolate land.
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Thanks. I regularly listen to Aranjuez while writing.
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My writing music is Ludovico Einaudi’s piano Nightbook
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I just recently discovered Einaudi’s work. He’s getting into my rotation too.
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Why indeed… Penned with an important message.
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Thanks.
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A powerful message!
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Thank you very much!
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You’re welcome!
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A fine poem and the audio accompaniment is perfect, picking out the sounds, as your poem picks out the reader’s thoughts. The question asked could lead to many more poems, but in the meantime, I will think on the power of your poem.
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I’m honored. I think that question is the root of most, if not all, my political poems.
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