“[Here, Said the Ocean]” by Rodrigo Dela Pena, Jr.

May 26, 2016Posted by

Ekphrastic Challenge, April 2016: Editor’s Choice

 

Photograph by Robert Dash
Photograph: “Into the Mystic” by Robert Dash. “[Here, Said the Ocean]” was written by Rodrigo Dela Pena, Jr., for Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge, April 2016, and selected by Timothy Green as the Editor’s Choice winner.

[download broadside]

__________

Rodrigo Dela Pena, Jr.

[HERE, SAID THE OCEAN]

Here, said the ocean to the ship

And here, said the towering sails to the wind

It was good, and there was evening

Here, said the body to music

O hear, said the lyre to the bones of the ear

And it was good, and there was morning

Here, said the breath, said the murmuring heart

Said the blank face of paper to the ink

—Ekphrastic Challenge, April 2016
Editor’s Choice Winner

[download audio]

__________

Comment from the editor, Timothy Green, on his selection: “I’m always looking for the poem that works—but works like no other. With its concise and confident voice, Rodrigo Dela Pena, Jr., created the most unique artistic object to pair with this photograph. There’s beauty to the lines, but it’s also the kind of poem where imagination transcends intention, that pushes the boundaries of what can be articulated until it becomes something truly new.”

Rattle Logo