Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

The Picasso Collection

When the gallery arranged the outing,
we went along never doubting that we’d enjoy the day.
Off in the bus and down the hill
leaving behind the Stanthorpe chill we were on our way.
Entering GOMA with eyes all bright,
for there’s lots of glass and lots of light, we went to the collection.

There were photos of Picasso and the things that he’d collected
publicly displayed for us just as his will directed.
Edouard Vuillard’s ‘Lullaby’, Marie Rousseau in her bed,
the pattern of a crocheted quilt and a fuzzy sleeping head.
A self-portrait of Miró with folds of orange-red,
and are the Spanish Dancer’s eyes in Pablo’s woman’s head?
Modigliani, Braque, Rousseau, Matisse, Degas, Derain-
Ideas, colours, angles shapes, reflected back again.
Postcard poses being redrawn to gain the look exotic.
Bodies done in oils or sketched, both simple and erotic.
A nude is in the garden, on a pillow she’s reclined.
The view is seen as from the front and also from behind.
From sombre browns and simple lines, from blues to colours bright,
swerves and curves and angles manipulate the light.
African masks and sculpture, figures short and tall
an inert naïve essence is extracted from them all.
And what a thrill it was to see the things that had an influence
when viewed and filtered through a mind of such creative brilliance.

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