“Telling It Through a Broken Lens” by Bola OpalekePosted by Rattle
Ekphrastic Challenge, February 2021: Editor’s Choice
Image: “Cloud Dance” by Claire Ibarra. “Telling It Through a Broken Lens” was written by Bola Opaleke for Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge, February 2021, and selected as the Editor’s Choice.
Comment from the editor, Timothy Green: “This month’s mind-bending image seems full to me of a strange longing that’s difficult to describe. Everything is mirrored but the birds, which are somehow free from the constraints of this universe. Bola Opaleke’s poem matches that intensity in a similarly abstract way, deepening the metaphor and pushing it into new territory. This was the poem that I kept returning to, and it felt more profound each time.”
“Faces in the Clouds” by Devon BalwitPosted by Rattle
Ekphrastic Challenge, February 2021: Artist’s Choice
Image: “Cloud Dance” by Claire Ibarra. “Faces in the Clouds” was written by Devon Balwit for Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge, February 2021, and selected as the Artist’s Choice.
Comment from the artist, Claire Ibarra: “For me, the theme of renewal as an integral part of our human condition is portrayed in ‘Faces in the Clouds.’ It reveals the struggle, but also recognizes the beauty in that effort. As the poem states ‘finding perfect symmetry,’ the image and the poem seem in harmony with each other. The idea of fissure and reassembly adds a sense of motion to the image. Also, I’m struck by the last line of the poem, somehow heartbreaking and yet hopeful at the same time.”