Houston’s poet laureate connects with our city

Editor’s note: Robin Davidson, a poet and University of Houston-Downtown associate professor, last month was named Houston’s second poet laureate. As Chronicle book editor Maggie Galehouse described (“Houston names second poet laureate” Page A1, May 20), Davidson’s role is, in part, to bring poetry to people and to celebrate poetry in schools and other public places. In that spirit, we asked Davidson to share one of her favorite poems with our readers. “The Rothko Chapel, Houston, Early Spring” is ekphrastic, a poem written in response to a painting. It is dedicated to her nephew and also celebrates philanthropist Dominique de Menil and the work of Russian-born American painter Mark Rothko.