Day 1: Inspired by all 4 artworks.

Wanderer

I was a boy, a prince in a fairytale world
destroyed by death’s-head invaders.
The magpie–one for sorrow–
followed me across the sea
to remind me I was alone, but so was he,
alone together

like so many. The green mounds and chalk downs
became my refuge, this foreign fossil-filled soil
fertilized love and fostered hearts—bandaging
mine, strengthening me with a steady diet of affection.

What’s left of my hair is grey now,
my stouter step supported by a stick.
I walk through my memories, the hill where I stumbled,
the dale where I proposed—

this is home now. The squeak of garden gate,
the kaleidoscope of blooms—and butterflies.
A magpie couple call to each other—I think,
two for joy.

For Paul Brookes’ Ekphrastic Challenge featuring the work of artists Aaron Bowker, Beth Brooke, Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad, and Sara Fatima Mir. You…