(On Degas’ “Woman at the Bath”)
Sure. It’s hell on my posture, posing this
way: back bent, breasts dangling like grape clusters,
feet shriveled from water too cool to stand
or soak in. Back aching, my head’s lighter
with each passing moment, cheeks rosy red
from blood rushing to my face, though I’ll not
blush to save my life! My hips and knees ache
to beat the band. All for his stroking hand.
But a girl doesn’t get to be immortal
sitting around waiting on Romeo
or Don Quixote to come tilt dragons
‘neath her tower. No. Paint and poetry
keep a girl’s hair from grey, face from wrinkles
and a hag’s mask. Art is Youth’s truest Fountain.
David M Pitchford is a poet, editor, and novelist living in the Midwest.
Posted on November 25, 2008 in Poems
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12 Responses to “BATHING BEFORE DEGAS • by David M Pitchford”
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November 25th, 2008 at 3:58 am
Here (if you don’t know the painting) is a link that easily demonstrates how good a poem this is.
http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/aol/image?query=woman%20at%20the%20bath%2C%20Degas
I particularly liked the ending here which takes us from the specific to the universal:
…………………….”Paint and poetry
keep a girl’s hair from grey, face from wrinkles
and a hag’s mask. Art is Youth’s truest Fountain.”
Hope so…
November 25th, 2008 at 8:31 am
I could really see the painting as I read this poem. I particularly liked thew thought that:
“Paint and poetry
keep a girl’s hair from grey, face from wrinkles
and a hag’s mask. Art is Youth’s truest Fountain.”
I can hope!
November 25th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Edgar_Germain_Hilaire_Degas_032.jpg
Here’s the link to the painting for anyone not immediately familiar with it.
November 25th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
It is easy for me to see the painting through David’s poem also, however for those who need the visual check out this site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Edgar_Germain_Hilaire_Degas_032.jpg
If you enjoy David’s work, please also visit the following site - http://poetryblogrankings.blogspot.com/2008/11/2008s-top-15.html
and vote…
~ Siobhan
November 25th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Good Lord–how many links do we need?!
It is a fine poem though, all the more so if one is familiar with the painting. To the poem’s further credit, one can conjure up the image pretty well even without having seen the painting.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:01 am
There was a problem with the spam filter apparently and so the link did not appear. There seems to have been a little overcompensation becasue none of us knew what was happening. You can’t have too much of a good Degas.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:57 am
Vivid images David, enjoyed this poem, congrats on your publication at EDPs!
Peace!
November 26th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Very nice, David. I loved the voice.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
A-ha! I can understand why the spam filter might be overly-cautious. It would not want someone slipping in a link to “Bathing in Vegas.”
Oh man, I crack myself up.
November 27th, 2008 at 5:12 am
Top-notch ekphrastic effort. Congratulations.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Funny you should mention that, Nicholas . . . My NaNo project this year is about a guy who heads for Vegas with a couple very lovely ladies and ends up in a series of bizarre inciedents.
Imagine a collaboration between Hunter S. Thompson and Quentin Tarantino . . . Far, far cry from Degas
FYI: my fringemonkey blog was deleted. Look for more of my poetry at bitterhermit on wordpress.
David M Pitchford
January 5th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
How did NaNo go? You know, it may have been tempting to rationalize a trip to Vegas for the sake of “research.”