Poetry from Art

I’ve written before about how any painting (or other work of art) could inspire a poem or story. There are many ways of doing this: staying closely with the piece of art, describing it; imagining, perhaps developing, the story in the picture; imagining the artist at work; moving away from the work of art to make a connection with something or someone else …
I recently discovered an online poetry anthology, And Other Poems, where a poem is added every few days. This is an eclectic and interesting collection – well worth following. Today’s offering is, ‘Vermeer’s Milk Maid’ by Esther Morgan. This poem briefly describes the picture – the ‘ribbon of milk’ and ‘belly of the pitcher’ -and then moves on to more personal and reflective ideas. I admire the stillness and feeling of balance that this poem conveys.