Vincent Van Gogh 36 - A Wave Of Passion Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

Back in his room at Denise's bakery,
Vincent placed his new drawings on the table.
Looking at it, he felt he had made shabby sketches.
He copied them into a new sheet of paper,
Improving and refining his drawings.
A sudden excitement gripped Vincent.
He wanted to see pictures all around him.
It was like a wave of passion,
Rushing, gushing all over his being.
He craved for art and paintings!

He recalled the work of his favourites -
Rembrandt, Millet, Jules Dupre,
Delacroix and Maris. And many others too.
He remembered he had a good collection
Of paintings, lithographs and etchings.
He felt nostalgic of the moments spent
In the art museums of London and Amsterdam.
That evening, Vincent simply forgot to be sad.
His thoughts were only of beautiful paintings
And the possibilities of countless artistic creations!

The artistic thoughts were like a lullaby,
That put him into a pleasant, peaceful sleep.
He got up refreshed at two-thirty in the morning,
Dressed up, picked up his pencil, sheets of paper,
Managed a rough board from the bakery kitchen as well,
And then, walked towards the Marcasse mine.
He sat on the same old, rusty iron wheel,
And started to sketch the miners rapidly.
This time, he managed to sketch five figures,
But, alas! all of them were without a face!

Vincent was unable to catch the expressions
Of the miners in darkness. But their faces were etched
Deeply in his mind. When all the miners disappeared
From his sight, Vincent went back to his room.
He began to sketch the figures quickly,
On fresh sheets of paper, otherwise,
He would forget to record the first impression.
When he completed his sketches, he looked at them,
Found them to be clumsy, disproportionate and ugly.
Laughing at himself, he tore them all into bits & pieces.!

Biographical Poem!