# # Spellbound (Inspired By A Poem By Paul Hansford) Poem by Sonya Florentino

Can words paint a picture in the mind

Can a poem evoke a memory

Yes! the poem 'Reflection' by Paul Hansford

Brought it all back to me


The sky, the clouds, the grass, the trees

Mirrored in the still blue lake

A girl once drew this heavenly view

Spellbound in its gaze


Can one taste the colors of a rainbow

Just look into her eyes

The beauty of life surrounds her

Refracted in her smile


© 2009 Sonya Florentino


Background Info:
Many years ago I chanced upon a drawing (in crayon) by a child of a landscape: a view of a lake with the reflection of the land and the sky upon the surface of the water.

I was transfixed by this image not only because the child-artist had such impeccable technique (the drawing stood out from those of the other children) but because the child captured something so profound, something spiritual. I remember thinking the drawing could be inverted and it would not have mattered. I also noticed that the reflected half seemed more real-the colors more vibrant, the lines more detailed. I returned to look at it again but they had taken down the exhibit by then. Needless to say, I never forgot that haunting image.

A few days ago, I read a poem by Paul Hansford here in Poemhunter titled “Reflection” in the form of a palindrome (a poem that reads the same forward and backward) .

As I was reading the poem, the memory of the drawing immediately came back to me, almost like déjà vu. I now realize that even though I must have seen this kind of reflection on a lake at some point in my life, it took a drawing and a poem to bring back that feeling, reminding me of the importance of reflection, of communing with nature and recognizing the spirit in everything.

Subsequently I learned that “Reflections” is the title of one of his book of poems, the cover of which is a photograph of a landscape, yes-with a lake, and like the drawing, 'as above...as below...'

P.S. I know, one shouldn’t have to explain a poem, but I’m making an exception here.