So, you probably know I quite enjoy writing poetry. I can’t claim that I’m particularly good at it, but I do find it a very pleasant creative outlet in my life. The majority of the poems I write are based on random inspirations that I have – mini brain waves if you will. A phrase or an image or a scene just pops into my head, and then I mull over it for a bit, and then start writing. And then I keep writing until I feel done, and then I edit it and then voila! A poem! 😀
That said, I don’t often write poems as school assignments. School is great and all, but I tend to do prose writing for my scholarly endeavours rather than dipping into my poetry side. However, these past few weeks have changed that track record for me! My family has been studying works of art by the impressionist Monet during school, and my Mum has tasked my siblings and I to write poems based on the paintings we have studied. I shared one such poem a couple weeks ago – read it here. I’ve found these ‘assigned’ poems rather fun – it’s interesting to go about writing poetry in a different way to my normal way! So, today I’m sharing with you one of these assigned poems that I have titled ‘Senses in the Gare Saint-Lazare’. Hopefully you can figure out why I chose this title by the end of the poem. 😉
~

Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare – Claude Monet
Echoes of hurried feet ring loud
Against the glass ceiling of the great cavern
The smoking beast huffs and puffs
Anxious to be on its way
The voices of people clamour high and low
Ebbing and flowing like the rumbling of ocean waves
Smoke clouds white and grey spew
From a coal black and coal smeared engine
Lamp posts stand like policemen on guard
In rows along slick metal tracks
Outside, the expanse of grey sky glowers
Threatening to spit angrily onto the ground once again
Bodies press close on either side
The scent of sweat and perfume mingling in a strange cocktail
Acrid smoke belches up high before hitting
The ceiling and twisting back down to caress unwary noses
Damp and the memory of rain sits heavily on shoulders
Inhaled by those already weighed down by fleeting life
Chocolate bought from well-lit shops
Melts slowly in lipsticked mouths that move incessantly
The dark taste of cigars hangs from
Thin lips stretched over stained yellow teeth
Breaths of wind and rain and smoke are
Gulped in by eager lungs tasting the city
Sweaty hands clutch nervously at leather bags and woollen coats
Fearing the fear of losing, the fear of being lost
Hard ground beneath heels and loafers and boots
Never yielding to the daily pressure of thousands
The first drops from a grey sky patter down on flushed cheeks
As hordes move towards the iron horse that will take them home
~
Any thoughts on anything? Poetry? Paintings? Monet? Senses? I’d love to hear them. Let’s chat in the comments below! 🙂
Monet would have smiled at all your senses took in underneath that glass cavern, along side the smoking beast. I’m sure there could have been loud echoes, voices clamoring high and low, and the scent of sweat and perfume as well as the chocolate. Loved the metaphors too: lampposts like policemen, smoke belching up high, iron horse, smoking beast, eager lungs – to name a few. Well done, Hannah. You got a lot out of that painting – in words!
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I found time after all (Sorry Tennyson) and I’m so glad I did. The way you’ve described it here has just opened up my imagination and I could see it in my mind’s eye as I read, the busy station, the people hurrying to and fro, the trains hissing and smoking and and the lipstick 🙂
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Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! I really enjoyed writing this poem – something about the painting is just so.. so.. imagination-worthy! 😀
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