Arriving

Today I share with you a poem by Derek Walcott entitled “Love After Love”:

The time will come

when, with elation

you will greet yourself arriving

at your own door, in your own mirror

and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.

You will love again the stranger who was your self.

Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart

to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored

for another, who knows you by heart.

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,

peel your own image from the mirror.

Sit. Feast on your life.

— Derek Walcott

Derek Walcott, a West Indian poet and dramatist, was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1992.  In his works Walcott studied amongst other things his role as a nomad between European and West Indian cultures. 

Jon Kabat-Zinn used this poem as an inspiration for his book “Arriving at Your Own Door: 108 Lessons in Mindfulness”

Here is Walcott’s poem read by Jon:

Art has for centuries inspired poets and poetry has inspired artists.

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Certain galleries have experimented with poetry readings in front of artworks and found that this encourages active looking and listening. At the opening of “Unfolding”, a poem was recited in front of my artwork “Trinity”.

The reading gives the viewer a chance to stop and listen, and also to focus on a particular artwork for a while, as well as perhaps see the work from a different perspective or think about it in different ways as multiple senses come into play. Dialogue between the viewer and the artwork is encouraged.  

The poem “Love After Love” and the book “Arriving at Your Own Door” are the inspiration for my new series which I have entitled “Arriving”. The works, created entirely on my iPhone, are printed onto aquarelle paper and framed.