early twentieth century paintings
gathering dust in antique shops
amidst the stained silver tea trays
delicate with old world charm
great grandmas made tapestry
painted water colours amidst
their potted aspidistras
thick velvet curtains and
heavy ticktock clocks
warming themselves by
log burning open fire places
a fear of light and air
keeps curtains closed and
windows shut
the dying flames glow in the dark
leaving a sprinkle of fine powdered ash
on everything
even the roses
THERE ARE FOURTEEN COMMENTS ON THIS POEM
So melancholy. Another day's treasures lingering, lost...
ReplyDeleteIt's a sad reality.
ReplyDeleteArtistic works remain locked up & their beauty gets covered with dust. Life is such...
I love the quietude of this poem Rall - and of course the dusty roses
ReplyDeleteI can remembering going in an antique shop in Tasmania much like this and found something I liked only for the shopkeeper unwilling to sell it to me!
ReplyDeletea fear of light and air
ReplyDeletekeeps curtains closed and
windows shut
the dying flames glow in the dark
leaving a sprinkle of fine powdered ash
on everything
even the roses
Beautifully haunting!
I loved the virtual trip to the antique shop ... one of my favorite things to do ... then came the last plaintive words,
ReplyDeleteand I want to fling open the curtains!
I can see that old-fashioned room, feel the closeness of drawn curtains.........very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLove what your last stanza says about the price one pays when one fears the wonders of nature, the gifts...
ReplyDeleteNone of you have probably noticed the signature on the painting. It is a water colour painted by Adolf Hitler in 1916.You all seem to like the painting. I think it shows a certain talent and delicacy.
ReplyDeleteRosemary Nissen Wade raised a question in her weekly Poets United post the 'Song not the Singer?' of whether we should just look at work on its own merits without bias.
I don't think most of us can. I was surprised when I found out that one of history's notorious mass murderers was capable of a painting like this. I wonder how many of you would have written favourable comments or indeed commented at all if you knew who painted this ?
Ethically I think work should be judged on its own merits without bias. Having said that,even though I like this painting I would not be comfortable with a copy of these roses on my wall...guess I am biased too.
I am both humbled and startled by your comments. I'm not sure it's possible to separate the singer from the song, the writer from the poem, or the painter from the painting.
DeleteSo interesting, Rall, that you pointed out this photo was painted by Hitler. I remember reading about him that he advocated a vegetarian lifestyle and instituted several animal protection laws because of his love for animals and his disdain for animal cruelty. Like this painting, it seems so at odds with what we know about him from history. I'm with you, though---I would not hang his art on my wall....it would feel almost like an endorsement of the man himself!
ReplyDeleteWe are all biased. I'm glad you pointed this out. It brings deeper meaning to your poem, which I'm sure if some of us had noticed would have thought, "May he and his dusty roses burn in hell!". I'm thinking this is a human reaction. You exemplify Rosemary's query perfectly.
ReplyDeleteIt seems all grandma's used to pull the blinds and live in the twilight zone.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful, Rall, and I loved the trip back in time.
ReplyDelete