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Ekphrastic Poetry based on Two Paintings by Henri Rousseau

Negro Attacked by a Jaguar, after Henri Rousseau Unaware, arms sway. Attentive green gazes at a tuxedoed man and his broken bride. Pink perfume glides over the jade scene. A red disco light hovers above raised limbs, spinning stardust rain down upon them. In the corner he hides -- peering around fibre-optic shrubs. Blackening this white moment. On the ballroom floor they dance. Rendezvous in the Forest, after Henri Rousseau In the wilderness they meet, horsebacked, whispering nothing sweet, meaningless. Captain courts, seeking victory beneath bare branches... hidden where all can see. Curious trees bend to view the scene below. The lady's palace chaperones her mistress from faraway brush. Antiqued cotton tufts frown overhead, lost souls driving by wreckage. Vultures. Scavengers of hunting season. Pausing to behold the carnage of predator and prey.
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Written by
candace-1
American
Published
Nov 15, 2011
Lines·Words
47·133
Notes

Drawing, like writing, tells a story that is colored through the interpretive lens of the observer.  I've always loved how the art a person creates inspires, moves, becomes powerful to different people for a plethora of reasons.  As I was looking through some paintings by Henri Rousseau, I found two that represented "civilization" and "barbarism."  The paintings inspired me by their juxtaposition of two concepts:  the instinct for survival versus the rituals for courting.

Negro Attacked by a Jaguar, after Henri Rousseau:  http://www.abcgallery.com/R/rousseau/rousseau73.html

Rendezvous in the Forest, after Henri Rousseau:  http://www.abcgallery.com/R/rousseau/rousseau21.html

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