Thursday, September 09, 2004

The lawnmower and the painting

I just rammed my nose into a lawnmower. Very painful. The handle-bar, specifically. Always the way, I guess – right where you least expect it, there’s a piece of steel.

So here I am, rubbing my aching nose. Pondering...

This...

----

A canvas hangs, in an empty room
Waiting in shadows of passers by.
Wishing to tell of more than shadows;
Wanting a lingering eye.

Stark light drowns the faded paint
That time cannot erase,
And jaded lines waver,
On the painting’s pale face.

Would people stop if it were changed,
Or perhaps if more the same
As other works in other rooms
More designed to fame.
Would clicking heels and unturned heads
Notice it not there?
For a painting is but empty space
To those who do not care.

Yet there is one just past the lights,
A faithful looker-on.
Who stays all day just out of sight
And seeks to not compare.
Who never lets the shadows or the
Heels get in the way,
And has unending interest
In the single painting there.

What is it in the work He sees?
In frenzied lines, in broken stokes
And sweat upon the canvas soaked?
Why gaze upon a thing so long
that others never note?

The answer lies not in the work
But in the careful hand
Of the One who looks past unturned eyes,
            For He painted this man.

6 comments:

Michelle said...

lovely poem, Reuben :) i dont know how you do it! but you must have a very creative mind :)

how do you explain your nose and the lawnmower? lawnmower handles are low... and noses are high? (unless you're a midget) (like mother Theresa) (but i dont think you are either a midget OR mother Theresa)

Notions Incognito said...

I bent over in the dark to put something down on the garage floor, not seeing the handle-bar of doom before me. =)

Anonymous said...

*shocket yet impressed look* you said "of doom", Reuben! YOU SAID HANDLEBAR OF DOOM!! *jaw drops* you are one of us!! Welcome to the elite club =)

Notions Incognito said...

** look of pleasant surprise ** hey, it's you my friend!!! =) Yes indeed. I figured I pondered so much anyway I may as well write them down so a) they are clearer in my head b) maybe after a while I get them all down and won't have to re-think them - but maybe I'll just think of more.

So far I've been mostly happy with how my ponderings turn out - occasionally I stumble into chasing the proverbial tail of my own thoughts. Then I get all confused. Entirely stupid really. Oh well, such is the way of thinking too much. =)

Kat said...

Yeah, say it! [expresses empathy through facial contortions difficult to convey in type]

Michelle said...

argh! all this thinking is weirding me out! lol...
However, you are still welcome in the Rangiora branch of the "of doom" club, Reubs!!

Oh no!! its the thought train of doom!!