Monday, February 16, 2015

with music (tanka)


with music
he parts the mists in my heart –
i am at peace


the lions of judgment
will have to wait in silence 


Henri Rousseau. The Dream.


Inspired by Henri Rousseau’s “The Dream”. 

Rousseau wrote a poem to accompany his artwork:

Yadwigha in a beautiful dream 
Having fallen gently to sleep 
Heard the sounds of a reed instrument 
Played by a well-intentioned [snake] charmer. 
As the moon reflected 
On the rivers [or flowers], the verdant trees,  
The wild snakes lend an ear 
To the joyous tunes of the instrument.

The name “Yadwigha” reminded me of Jadwiga of Poland. Some research on Wikipedia revealed that the woman in the painting is a Polish mistress from Rousseau’s youth.  And since I was raised in a part of the world where being Polish makes one the butt of many jokes — knowing that this lovely lady is YADWIGHA makes my heart happy in about twenty different ways.