Tuesday, May 24, 2011

bringing down the light

nicholas tournier banquet scene with a lute player

the small opening in the ceiling
was traversed once a year by the passage of venus
the evening star

without fail
it bestowed
its cool soft-silvered kiss
on those who gathered below
the narrow aperture

to celebrate this event
each man had brought a gift

the one
another his knowledge of cookery
another his wealth of stories
in his home country

as the night sky filled the opening in the ceiling
so did the little room fill with unexpected guests

wine filled their heads and their hearts
each hoped
that with the kiss of the star
so too
would she
proffer a kiss to him

nicholas tournier réunion de buveurs


visual prompt provided by tess at magpie tales

21 comments:

Jeannette StG said...

Love the first painting!

Ruth said...

This is absolutely brilliant, Steven!

First, I love that you (you) of course brought nature into this indoor scene through that chink and the evening star!

Then to offer a second painting by Tournier that blends with the twist of the story, the kiss of the star and the young woman.

Then the links to the music, the Renaissance food and the art of Tournier, well I can only bow in gratitude and delight.

You would have had me just with your verse!

steven said...

jeanette - the painting is like a nexus point for stories and poems. if you'd like to see more responses to the painting then follow the link at the bottom of the post. steven

steven said...

ruth - goodness, i love making little posts like this that riff off a painting. opening links from the words outwards was really fun. i'm so glad you enjoyed them. steven

Tess Kincaid said...

I, too, noticed that the natural light was bright, but delicate and almost otherworldly, like starlight. The reunion piece is fabulous. I'm so glad you found and shared it. Always a treat when you join in Magpie, my friend. x

steven said...

tess thanks for the lovely prompt and for your kind comment here. you are amazing!! steven

Reya Mellicker said...

In Washington DC, we don't notice the stars because we can't see them. It's sad to think about all the thoughts we don't have, because we are not inspired by the stars.

As my friend Sharon would say, "It ain't right."

OceanoAzul.Sonhos said...

steven, magnific connection between painting, music and poetry. The links take us to specific places and it all complements. Your poetry is light, like stars.

oa.s

ellen abbott said...

wonderful story.

steven said...

reya the stars shine down on us today and every day. steven

steven said...

oa.s, thankyou very much. it was fun creating the moment. steven

steven said...

ellen - it was wonderful fun putting it together. steven

cosmos cami said...

I really like how you took your readers away from the table, out of the room and back.
Really nice!

Jinksy said...

I thought it looked like moonlight, too, but the lady won my heart! LOL

hyperCRYPTICal said...

This is lovely Steven.

Anna :o]

Steve Isaak said...

Good, engaging read. Might want to change "profer" to "proffer" (unless you're using an antiquated spelling of the word).

steven said...

hey cosmos cami thankyou for the kind comment. it was a little moment's insight that perhaps the space for this piece was bigger than the post itself. thanks for noticing and i'm glad you enjoyed yourself. steven

steven said...

jinksy i so appreciate your english sense of humour. steven

steven said...

HyperCRYPTICal (anna) thankyou so much. i really liked the little space the painting created. if i could have stepped further back i would have had much more to offer. steven

steven said...

steve isaak, thankyou for the profer/proffer distinction. apparently in certain contexts both are acceptable but i think the double "ff" is really more appropriate. thanks man. steven

gsb3 said...

This is a refreshing departure from the riff-raff interpretations of the men and the concerns for the lady's virtue (as I am guilty of). It is a quite original interpretation and a uniquely creative writing. Congratulations on making us all think a little bit more and challenging us with something different.