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      December 21, 2017Young Medusa in the FallJ.P. Dancing Bear

      Image: “Wind-Blown Meadow” by Phyllis Meredith. “Young Medusa in the Fall” was written by J.P. Dancing Bear for Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge, November 2017, and selected as the Artist’s Choice.
      this is how I want to become
       
      in November when all the sugar manifests
      into colors: all varieties of rust and gold
       
      if the wind catches a strand of hair
      breathes life into it, till it writhes and twists
      and hisses—so be it
       
      I had my fill of what others call me
      what they want me to be, I’m through
      with bickering about labels
       
      listen: there is a hint of frost in the air,
      if you stop everything, you can hear
      crystals forming
       
      I want that—to be that sharp
      and hard and cold—to stare you
      into stone, if I must
       
      look: I never asked you to follow me
      out here, alone and without notice, if you
       
      stay stuck here, don’t expect me to return

      from Ekphrastic Challenge

      Comment from the artist, Phyllis Meredith

      “For me, this is the poem that most matches the mood and the story of the image. This poem really speaks about the stare she is giving. It digs into the soul of this image. While it does mention the wind and her hair, the words then dig deeper and go on to question the meaning behind the look she is giving to the viewer and what she is truly saying. I believe ‘Young Medusa in the Fall’ gets to the heart of ‘Wind Blown Meadow.’ In this image Meadow is thirteen, almost fourteen, years old, the image was taken at twilight on Surfers Point Beach in Ventura, California, where my parents live. She was freezing cold and super mad—she had hit her head and was very upset by that and the strong wind and just how cold it really was that evening at sunset.”

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