Do It! Ekphrastic

Image of “Road in Etten”:

Description:

The drawing is called “Road in Etten.” The artist is Vincent van Gogh. The people in the drawing look like they are feeling pretty low. The most used color appears to be brown. If you look close enough you might notice a lady in a gown. Her face is covered and out of view. She is facing away, the same as the man in blue. The blue of his jacket sticks out. Looking at the trees, grass, and plants, it seems to be in the middle of a drought or maybe Winter. The man with the broom has the only visible face. He seems to be sweeping away that gray dust/snow with grace. If you look further back, you might notice some red. Those are barns. One barn is fully visible and the rest you just see corners of roofs. Some of the trees are tilting like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. A couple of them have a rope holding them down so that they don’t fall over completely. These are pollarded Willow trees. They look as if their roots are above the surface and pointing at the sky. Only two people are talking to each other.

My Poem:

“The Road in Etten is Not Made of Yellow Bricks”

The Road in Etten was drawn by Vincent van Gogh.

The Road in Etten is full of people feeling low.

The Road in Etten is as sad as Dorothy when she’s in Kansas.

The Road in Etten is brown instead of yellow brick.

The Road in Etten does not lead to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The Road in Etten does not have a Lion jumping out with his claws.

The Road in Etten is dirty and being swept.

The Road in Etten is surrounded by trees with no leaves left.

The Road in Etten has some red barns further back.

The Road in Etten has two men wearing jackets of black.

The pollarded Willow trees have branches that fly high like Glinda’s big bubble.

The pollarded Willow trees look like they are afraid of the man in blue.

The pollarded Willow trees look to be anything but new.

The pollarded Willow trees stand still on the side of the covered woman.

The pollarded Willow trees are not throwing apples.

The pollarded Willow trees are not being cut down by a Tin Man in need of oil.

The pollarded Willow trees look like their roots are above the soil.

The pollarded Willow trees are surrounded by farm fields.

The pollarded Willow trees look as disturbed as a Scarecrow with his insides ripped out.

The pollarded Willow trees are not being barked at by a little dog named Toto.

It is wintertime on The Road in Etten.

It is wintertime so there is some snow.

It is wintertime so everyone has something on their head.

It is wintertime and the Wicked Witch of the East is dead.

It is wintertime and all the people are wearing clothes that will keep them warm.

It is wintertime and unlike Oz, it isn’t as bright.

It is wintertime and there isn’t a Munchkin in sight.

It is wintertime and there isn’t a man hiding behind a curtain.

It is wintertime and two men are having a conversation.

It is wintertime and there is no way of knowing what they are saying for certain.

It is the end of the road and the Wicked Witch of the West has been slain.

It is the end of the road and the ruby slippers, she did not obtain.

It is the end of the road in wintertime.

It is the end of the road and with the lack of birds, there was no chime.

It is the end of the road and the Lion no longer felt a need to hide.

It is the end of the road and the snow didn’t keep the people from walking outside.

It is the end of the road, but not the end of life.

It is the end of the road, but to Dorothy, “there is no place like home”, despite the strife.

It is the end of the road with only evil being beaten.

It is the end of The Road in Etten.