Plenty On The Table
by Megan Yong Kay Liz, Glen Waverley Secondary College
Years 9 – 10 Ekphrastic Poetry Finalist
‘A Banquet Still Life’ by Jan Davidsz de Heem (circa 1640–41).
Battered
And
Bloodied.
Bruised
And
Bacchanal
Fashioned by others hands
To take their bold stares.
Fingers trace the edges
Of the ebon cloth,
Mimicking the silk
They drape over their scapulas.
Bestowed a seat at their table
Centred around lavish desire,
I am drowning in the fidelity of my dreams.
Reaching for the produce of the land,
The lute echoes
The crazed, endless chorus.
My touch
Brushes the plumped figs,
And my gaze is fixed,
As the spring time colour seeps away.
It all rains down,
The hellfire of my heart.
In a haste,
I scramble
And
Choose
The ewer to extinguish
Out the flames.
But the lustre falls off my palms,
And the alloy tarnishes into rust.
Hoisting up my skirt,
I sweep everything in.
Lemons,
Grapes,
Peaches,
Alike
Tumble onto the fabric trench
Of my design.
But one before the next,
They turn to ash
And I am forced to reckon
With the disparity between my
Head
And my
Heart.
How did writing this poem make you feel?
This poem depicts a painting of a banquet. Under my lens, it was flamboyant, chaotic and all over the place. In my head, it was a metaphor for a person being given a position of authority and no matter how much they want, or the more ambition takes over, they will never shake the feeling of being underserving. Sending them tumbling into desperation. I want my readers to hear the desperation in the narrators voice, to feel this feeling of uncertainty but yet this continuous want for more. I think there’s so much of a distance between what you want and what you believe you are capable of doing and I really wanted this poem to capture that essence, whilst also conveying bits of imagery.
Which single line in your poem are you the absolute proudest of?
My favourite line of the poem can’t be limited to one as both lines work heavily in conjunction. So my favourite lines are ‘The lute echoes’, ‘The crazed, endless chorus.’ In my opinion, it not only carries the essence of the still life that the poem is based on, but also the internal turmoil that the individual is descending into. It’s not just a song that’s playing in the dining room, but the voices in your head that’s telling you that you aren’t enough, that the thing you want is just out of reach, that you do not deserve to be there. It’s the soundtrack to your hysteria.
Describe your poem in three words
Ambition, hysterical, doubt.
Where is your absolute favourite place to sit when you are brainstorming ideas?
Preferably by the beach or somewhere in a park, but most of the time I’m just cooped up in my room near the window for natural light.
What skills do you think you strengthened through writing this poem?
I really enjoyed playing around with structure. Sometimes I forget that poems are meant to be performed aloud and not just read out on paper and this writing process really reminded me of that because it challenged me with trying to make the poem flow well.
Why do you think people write poetry?
In my opinion, it’s an art form that people use to express themselves. For me, it’s a cathartic release of emotions and ideas I am unable to tell others. It’s unfiltered, raw and encapsulates how I feel in the moment. Poetry connects people with each other, transcending culture, continents and conflict. It’s human nature, enabling us to make sense of the world around us.