Summer Playground – An Ekphrastic Poem

Summer Playground

Gentle waves lap the shore
in late afternoon sunshine
Seagulls squabble in sand
squawking displeasure
A chocolate dog patient, disciplined
sits quietly by her owner
Paying the noisy birds no attention
Concentrating on the water’s movement
Her summer playground is
reflecting the sun’s orange glow
Waiting for the signal she knows will come
And it does, right on cue
One word is all that is needed
and sheer joy explodes in
showers of salty spray


Copyright © 2022 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved

Merril is hosting D'Verse Poets tonight and has asked us to write
a summer ekphrastic poem using one of the paintings she chose as
our inspiration.  I chose the one by Peder Severin Krøyer,
Summer Evening at Skagen. The Artist’s Wife and Dog by the Shore