Vincent Van Gogh 71 - The Hague Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

Vincent left his parent's house in Etten
And moved to The Hague.
He was determined to make a living
With his skill of drawing and painting.
He rented a place near Ryn Station
In Uilebooman for fourteen francs a month.
Vincent bought a kitchen table, two kitchen chairs.
And a blanket. That was all he could afford!
Theo had promised to send hundred Francs
Every month for his expenses.

Vincent looked forward to his association
With his kind cousin Mauve.
He wanted to learn the techniques of paintings
And watch Mauve while he painted in his studio.
Vincent was greeted warmly by Mauve and his wife Jet.
When They heard that Vincent was sleeping on the floor,
They immediately offered him a hundred-guilder,
So that he could buy a bed and other necessities.
Though Vincent was embarrassed,
He received the money with a promise to pay it back.

Mauve was a generous artiste. Additionally,
Mauve gifted Vincent with a painting box,
Water colours, brushes, palette, palette knife, oil etc.
Whatever funds Vincent had, he used it all up.
To buy the bare minimum in his rented place.
Though he was all set to draw and paint,
The big problem of hunger seized him.
He realized that he had no food at home.
The pangs of hunger are intolerable, it not only
Numbs your body but disturbs your mental health as well.

How can you draw and paint when your fingers
Have no strength to hold a brush?
How can you paint when your mind goes back
To the Borinage days, of utter apathy and starvation?
How can you manage when you require a live model
But have no money to pay the model?
How can you bear it when your father is so harsh
Criticisizing and condemning your every action?
How can you ever forget that terrible blow
Of being rejected by Kay and insulted her father?

A Biographical Poem