El Jaleo
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"EL JALEO" by John Singer Sargent
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EL JALEO
school outing …
prep school day trip -
the Isabella Gardner Museum, Boston …
I round a corner inside,
a sunny courtyard to my left
ahead, an exquisite scalloped arch
sculpted columns on each end
and beyond, softly lit ...
- I gasp, air sucked from my lungs
in the literal sense
my hand clutches my chest,
knees wobbling ...
noticing, someone asks if I'm okay
"physically, yes ... thank you"
(when my breath finally returns)
blown as a mind can be, I'm transfixed
minutes pass, then hours ...
tranquil water, am I -
no ripples, no vacillations
no concern of what’s taking place around me
an entire multi-floor museum -
exceeding artistic genius on every wall
yet the bulk of my day is spent ... right there
entirely and utterly spellbound …
light, dance, music
romance, color, shadow, laughter -
every motion and emotion, churning
I can hear the guitars, the clack of her shoes
feel the heat of el club nocturna, pressing
mind spinning with the feigned haze of absinthe
the waft of cigar smoke and perfume
words stir deep inside me
wound in phrases I can not speak
phrases and fires unknown and unspoken …
and unquenched …
I am but a child -
in the presence of The Divine
frozen to my marrow by the bloom of
resplendent brilliance
my soul, a chaotic milieu of terrifying beauty
and all I can manage,
all I can do ...
is breathe.
~ 2nd Place ~ in the "Creativity In Visual Arts" Poetry Contest, Line Gauthier, Judge & Sponsor.
* This happened when I was fourteen ... art became very real to me that day, as did the phrase "divine Inspiration", thanks to the painting above, by John Singer Sargent. If you've ever seen it in person, (or SO many others!), you know whereof I speak. (Above image is slightly compressed). *
Copyright © Gregory Richard Barden | Year Posted 2019
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