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      November 26, 2020Four Loaves of Stone, AscendingJoel Vega

      Image: “Dream Spirit” by Christopher Whitney. “Four Loaves of Stone, Ascending” was written by Joel Vega for Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge, October 2020, and selected as the Editor’s Choice.
      Even Noah, stepping out
      of the Ark, the world stretching
      out from his feet in a mighty
      display of infinite water—
      even he, picking up
      the first four loaves of stone,
      his faith shaken, querying:
      What shred of cloth
      can wrap this naked
      body? What terror
      or bliss will rise
      from the receding
      tides? But the new
      earth speaks
      a new language.
      Come here, it says,
      Come here, then.
      Gather beneath a sky
      bereft of stars.

      from Ekphrastic Challenge

      Comment from the editor, Timothy Green

      “As much as possible, I try to choose a poem each month that’s different from the artist’s choice, so that this series can show the breadth of human imagination. It worked out well this time, as the two poems couldn’t be more different in length, style, and interpretation. I loved the timeless beauty of Joel Vega’s response, and the haunting ambiguity of those last few lines. The title alone could be a poem, and you’d be hard pressed to find a phrase more pleasurable to speak than ‘loaves of stone.’ I found myself returning just to say that phrase aloud again.”

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