A Poem and Art

The Equestrian by Marc Chagall

 

Don’t Let That Horse…

Don’t let that horse

                              eat that violin

 

    cried Chagall’s mother

 

                                     But he

                      kept right on

                                     painting

 

And became famous

 

And kept on painting

                              The Horse With Violin In Mouth

And when he finally finished it

he jumped up upon the horse

                                        and rode away

          waving the violin

And then with a low bow gave it

to the first naked nude he ran across

~Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Melanie at The Wine-Dark Sea has a New Year’s Resolution to post art and poetry each day. Yeah, I’m not going to underestimate my ability to fail at that task by committing to it but what I am going to do, is post both as often as possible. Melanie and I have been part of the same art meme on facebook. I had crossed my fingers that Jen Ambrose would assign me Marc Chagall just so I could post this pic, but she chose for me an artist I was not familiar at all with which really expanded my horizons. Then I went to Melanie’s blog and found the first pic she had chosen was a Chagall and I got the biggest smile because I knew…I had to participate now! This poem written by Ferlinghetti is also a favorite and was, in fact, inspired by the painting (in case you couldn’t already tell that by looking at the painting and reading). I was introduced to both in college in a course I took called Literature of the Beat Generation. And it was one of those moments in my life when it was as if time just imprinted itself on my brain. Shortly after I graduated, Jeff found leaning against the dumpster in our apartment complex a Chagall print. Sadly, it wasn’t this one. But it’s been in our boys’ room for 10 years. So, here’s to today and sending a little art and poetry out into the otherwise ugly and un-poetic world.