One of the most powerful things about poetry is its ability to convey inexplicable emotions in the most unusual ways; you read a poem and it makes you feel a certain way that you felt once before but could not express. Sometimes words can be abstract because emotions are not always straight forward, and one poem can be ready by many and interpreted in just as many ways because no two people are the same and language can be subjective in nature. A painting can inspire poetry if it inspires enough awe or mystery so that something within the poet is aroused and she tries to put what she feels into words.
Willem De Kooning paints legs of different tans and shapes, splayed in all directions; some kneeling, some crawling, some stretched out, and some contorted. A distorted face floating on the top right, shrouded by some shades of blue; a distorted face with exaggerated eyebrows, hollowed eyes and floating hair. A mass of headless hairs floating on the top left; a mass of headless hairs with no face. There are supposedly two figures in this subdued palate yet, only one of them seems to have a face. What are these figures doing, and how could they influence ones poetry?
Two figures with numerous legs make me think of potential which is lost due to an inability to harness this potential; how does one move around with so many legs? Two figures with one face, etched out eyes and contorted features makes me think of darkness, and an inability to express oneself; there is confusion, maybe even frustration but the two figures remain silent because they have no voice.
