Pictures From Van Gogh (The Starry Night) Poem by Raymond Farrell

Frenzied swirling lines
never seen
in the empty perfection
of photography
enchanted with the heavens
reaching out
searching seeking
hallucinating
all strokes whirling
seizing the moment
to attempt
a full meaningful
mystical union
or release
perhaps
yet through it all
unable to bring
order from chaos
or touch God
in the stars
in the end
sinking down
into the agony
of uncontrolled emotion
as the lines
fall and slip apart
in desperation
colors
are applied
to yield forms
which lose their firmness
and disappear
over the blue hills
into infinite darkness
and despair
as the tenuous grip
on reality
appears to be loosening.