http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/family-photograph

This poem The Family Photograph by Vona Groarke is one of the ekphrastic poems I found interesting. I think this poem is ekphrastic because it indirectly tells us what are in the family photograph. Even though the poet did not directly describe the family photograph, we, as a reader, could imagine that her father-in-law with a beard, her husband, and herself carrying a crying baby in her arm are standing in front of her house. There are whitened railings, crystal glasshouse, and fresh gravel on the avenue. She also tells us the time when the photograph is taken, that it is in a summer and it’s her son’s first birthday. Not only the poem include vision, but also there are senses of hearing (the baby cries), touching (warm), and smelling (pleasantly surprised air). In the poem, Groarke writes, “you have stepped out/ to make sure that everything/is in its proper place”. The poet spent her whole day preparing and making sure everything is perfect, but all the sudden, the baby cries during the picture. The photograph symbolizes that we are trying to make everything perfect during our lifetime, but there are always imperfections. The poet later writes, “You stand, a well-appointed group/with an air of being pleasantly surprised./ You will come to love this photograph”.  Here, she is telling us that we must accept the problems in our lives and the imperfection could be much valuable than the perfect one. The photograph is certainly an art for me.