My first quote comes from Seelye’s Mourning Picture: “Who held onto her girlhood until Death stopped For her.” In the painting accompanying the poem, we can see two grieving parents. My first quote shapes the unseen child they were grieving for into a more tangible entity for readers. The second quote I will explore in this QCQ is: “I am Effie, visible and invisible, remembering and remembered,” from Rich’s Mourning Picture. In this quote, the poem is giving the child a voice, commenting on the parents in the artwork, as well as the ghostly image of the unseen child in the corner. I found this exercise a very impactful way to see how poetry can work with and expand upon art. In the reading by Moramarco, he uses the term ‘painterly poems.’ He explains the effect those poems have on an art piece: “They also demonstrate three distinct types of painterly poems: the poem as a critical commentary on a painting; the poem as a dramatic rendering of an art work; and the poem as a meditation or philosophical discourse inspired by a painting.” Moramarco writes about these poems as being of three distinct types, but I feel as though a painterly poem could work in all the three ways he describes. In both of my quotes above, we see the lines from the poem describing and renditioning the painting, as well as providing a meditation on its discourse. I also feel that they both provide commentary on the intentions of the artwork. In many ways, I feel inclined to dislike painterly poetry. A painting is created for many reasons, one popular one being as a form of expression. Often, a painting can express much more than language can, as a viewer is able to interpret it with his or her own meaning. However, trying to define, expand, or comment on art with writing feels as though it may diminish the capacity for personal understanding and push for a more rigid meaning to a piece. In what ways do painterly poems diminish a stand-alone art piece? In what ways do they enhance art for viewers? Can a painterly poem work in all of the three capacities outlined by Moramarco?