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. 






10 comments:

  1. Well what a surprise Jen to find you at blogger. A great response on dreams. Thank you.

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    1. Oh, hi Kristjaan! Sorry so long in responding! I keep forgetting to check this site!

      Thanks for the kind encouragement :D

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  2. Oooo this is clever....the lions of judgement..LOL
    Beautiful tanka. Hmmm so you are Polish eh ? ..A vodka and herring person perhaps!
    That's great !
    If you are blogging other than this format I cannot comment. Just found you here by accident. Shame because your work is one of the best!

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    1. Hi Rall --
      Sorry to take so long to respond -- like I told Kristjaan, I keep forgetting to check Blogger. Thanks for the kind encouragement -- this means a lot :)

      Delete
  3. Creative post and haiku and lovely music to enhance wonderful work

    Happy Weekend to you,
    artmusedog and carol

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  4. Leave those who are judgmental alone!

    Hank

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Hi. Thanks for dropping by and commenting! Your thoughts are always appreciated :)