An ekphrastic poem is inspired by a work of art. “Washing Away My Grief with the Sea” was inspired by Georges Seurat’s Port En Bessin The Semaphor and Cliffs.
Waves wash over me, ignoring the exhaustion That threatens to overtake me. Engulf me like the ships, that smack their lips, waiting to swallow its next craft. Scraping the sand off of my shoes, I try to push her out of my mind; It’s far too hard. But giving up is not a path - that I travel by. So I allow my thoughts to stir, until it is time to retire for the night. It’s the surge of the sea that influences me; It whispers in my ear to move on. She does not matter anymore, allowing her to fade is the only choice, the conch shell, that curves, agrees. (it’s not what I want.) Despite what I want, this is what I have to do. The seagulls shriek, urging for me to live to find my own purpose and passions, filling them up with my own time and reason. They say, ignorant of the past troubles - that I have faced. I lift my face upwards, to spy on the seashore in an effort to create my own ripples on the beach. (There will be no more wanting.)
Alanna Robbert is a graduating senior at PPCHS and was selected as the first runner up in Broward County’s 2021-22 High School Poet Laureate contest. Whenever she has free time, she enjoys expressing herself creatively, whether it’s through art, writing, or music. And if not, she’s usually outside reading or walking her dog.
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