For our April Blog Competition, we are calling for artistic pieces inspired by a beautiful poem by Diana M titled “Carnival.” Available below, this poem is inspired by a fan favorite HON 205 Class with Professor Cathy Elias on Brazilian Music and Dance (to read more about this class, check out this blog post here!)
For this months competition, we ask you to read the poem and create a work of art inspired by this poem. This can be digital illustration, painting, drawing, photography, music, etc! Submissions are due Sunday, April 28th and should be emailed to honorsprogram@depaul.edu.
Selected submissions will be published on the Honors Blog and in Inside Honors, our Honors Alumni newsletter. Submitting a piece will also enter you into a raffle to win a Barnes and Noble gift card!
“Carnival” by Diana Mejia
A smile, interrupted by a scrunching face, Brows betray me with their salted rain,
but I blink, and rebound, high on my toes I twirl around.
Pink dress hikes up my thigh, shorts make a brief display,
a fleeting thought of modesty, reigned by Samba’s call.
Brilliantly grinning, the faces around me do the same
I am not afraid at all.
Carnival has taken colored brushes and painted new rivers onto my skin,
my hair is dancing, my feet are dancing, my hands are being tossed by the wind.
With thrumming veins and trembling legs, I am the rumble in the floor.
This is samba, these are drums,
my smile is one part teeth and two part gums.
The tears in my eyes are glitter, it fell off a pretty bird’s plume,
it landed there when the dancers entered the room.
My tired is nowhere to be found, it left when Edison Lima took the stage.
Oh to be recognized by Samba’s greatest mage,
they dance like dance was not a verb but their permanent state of being,
my heart grasped at sights I couldn’t believe I was seeing.
If paper green tried to take me, I’d stay forever on the dance floor.
Pay me in sequins, it’s the only form of currency I’ll ask for,
crown me in them, and throw me in the circle, basked by colored lights.
Watch my feet move, my legs are ‘dorned in diamond tights.
My heart is decked with pink and green,
and my wings are gold and blue.
For Carnival, Samba and more- I thank you deeply Professor.
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