The following are ekphrastic poems by my friend and colleague Judy Walsh-Mallett. As I explore in my post “Questioning Plates,” ekphrastic poetry “is poetry that responds to a piece of visual art. The practice of ekphrastic poetry can lead the poet, and reader, to surprising self-reflection.” The visual art that served as muses for Judy’s poems includes two different statues of Mary, at two different retreat centers. Check out some additional thoughts I’ve offered on ekphrastic poetry here. The post below does not necessarily reflect the views of this website.
Headless Mary
This text is blank
You bless this quiet corner.
Hardly radiant.
The only remnant
of any original color
are a few chips of white paint
in some of the crevices
of your dress.
This text is blank
Your stone is
mottled by
a
thin coating of moss.
Your
head and hands
are long gone.
A solitary tendril
of Virginia Creeper
adorns your garment.
This text is blank
Why are you still here?
I can’t help
wondering
why you have been left
in this tranquil and tended
reverent garden.
It seems unlikely
due to distracted
or simply busy
gardeners.
Your presence
feels
more intentional.
This text is blank
And what became
of your other body parts?
They are not discarded
on the ground.
Were these buried tenderly
by those gardeners?
This text is blank
You inspire
thoughts
of women
children, men
creatures, Earth
worn down, shattered, harmed.
You unsettle and comfort
with stillness.
This text is blank
Above you
in leafy branches
melodies ring out.
Bright tones and chirping.
Songs and psalmody.
Ave Maria!
Ora Pro Nobis!
This text is blank
You are beautiful,
oh silent, scarred one.
Worthy of praise.
Willing to receive our prayers
and
pray for us.
This text is blank
September 2019 at Richmond Hill
Editor’s Note: another Mary statue (not pictured) across the street from another retreat center that Judy visited serves as the inspiration for the following poem.
Mary and MAGA
This text is blank
Dear Mary,
How is it for you
to stand under the
MAGA flag?
This text is blank
The banners,
emblazoned
with scowling
images of
the candidate and
a lion,
high, whipped by wind,
snapping wild, loud, fierce.
This text is blank
Your visage locked and
silent in the stone.
Your vision
that the rich would go away
empty-handed and
the poor ones
would enjoy plenty
seems at odds
with
the other’s message.
This text is blank
Were you made of flesh,
would you flee this spot,
throw rocks,
rip down
the emblems
or remain
in the garden
secure, solid, strong
in the promise of
your sure word?
This text is blank
What might your prayer be
for those who would thrust greatness
over the whole land
What desire?
Blessed are you…
Pray for us…
Now.
This text is blank
November 2023
Judy Walsh-Mellett has lived in Mt. Rainier, MD since 1987 where she and her husband raised three kids in the treasured community of friends and neighbors here. One of her current joys is being a grandmother.
She records poems as they come to her and also enjoys singing and painting. She is an active vegetable, herb, flower and native plant gardener. She now offers her home and garden as Still Place: An Urban Retreat and is on the staff of Shalem’s “Transforming Community: Leading Spiritual Groups and Retreats”.
Abstract photo credit: markchadwickart on Visualhunt