Open Link Night #OLN dVerse.  15.01.2026

In response to: https://wp.me/p1GTyJ-8NP



Among Verticals

Mme Kupka among Verticals (1910–1911)
by František Kupka

She is not hidden—
only translated
into color and cadence.

Verticals fall like rain
that forgot how to stop,
each stripe a moment passing,
each hue a breath interrupted.

Her face gathers itself
between red resolve
and blue silence,
a woman becoming
through motion rather than form.

Identity drips,
reassembles,
refuses stillness.

This is how a soul survives time:
by letting the world move through her
until she is no longer outline,
only presence—
standing
among the verticals.

💫Maggie

The Afterlove Voice 💫


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24 responses to “Among Verticals”

  1. lillian Avatar

    What a beautiful ekphrastic poem for this vibrant image! I am especially smitten with these lines“a woman becomingthrough motion rather than form” and your final stanza.
    Thank you so much for posting! Do consider joining us on Saturday for our LIVE session….even if just to sit in – the more the merrier!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Maggie Avatar

      Thank you so much Lillian 😇.

      Like

  2. Marja Avatar

    A beautiful poem I especially love the last stanza

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Maggie Avatar

      Thanks 😊

      Like

  3. Björn Rudberg (brudberg) Avatar

    I love the thougth of seing this as being a person absorbed by the world… rather than what I saw, someone being hidden.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Maggie Avatar

      Thank you—that means a lot to me. Absorbed by the world feels very close to what I was sensing as I wrote it.

      Like

  4. Brendan Avatar

    That’s the hope of the artist’s soul – I might make that “(a) standing / among the verticals.” For love, well, verticals are just art, breath indulging hue. But whatever gets a soul through its night.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Maggie Avatar

      Thank you for reading it so closely. I like how you put that—a soul through its night feels like common ground, whether the verticals are body, breath, or pure color. I enjoy how abstraction leaves room for both.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Sadje Avatar

    Beautifully written Maggie

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Maggie Avatar

      Thank you Sadje 😊❤️

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Sadje Avatar

        You’re welcome my friend

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Maggie Avatar

        🌷❤️

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Sadje Avatar
  6. kim881 Avatar

    I love your interpretation of the painting, Maggie, the alliterative ‘color and cadence’, ‘each stripe a moment passing’ and the face gathering itself ‘between red resolve and blue silence’. You have captured the essence and presence of the woman among the verticals.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Maggie Avatar

      Thank you—I love that you picked up on those moments. I was trying to let the language move the way the painting does.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. kim881 Avatar

        And you succeeded!

        Liked by 1 person

  7. merrildsmith Avatar

    Such a beautiful response to the art. I like this positive interpretation that this is how she lives on, a soul surviving time through the verticals (also like the line about how they fall like rain).

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Maggie Avatar

      Thank you—that means a lot. I was drawn to the idea of survival through motion rather than stillness, so I’m grateful that came across.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. merrildsmith Avatar

        You’re very welcome!

        Liked by 1 person

  8. rothpoetry Avatar

    Very nicely done!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Maggie Avatar

      Thank you so much 😇

      Liked by 1 person

      1. rothpoetry Avatar

        You are welcome!

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Melissa Lemay Avatar

    Absolutely beautiful!

    “This is how a soul survives time:
    by letting the world move through her
    until she is no longer outline,
    only presence—
    standing
    among the verticals.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Maggie Avatar

      Thank you Melissa ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

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