Rene Magritte, "The Art of Conversation," c. 1963
Genuine conversation does lift us
Out of the ordinary, mundane world
Provided that the matter we discuss
Is something other than the nonsense hurled
At each of us by quotidian life:
The work that seems not to construct a thing
The petty, venal, smirking office strife;
The bills, whose hunger is grown by feeding
The slow decay of traitorous bodies
The colorful tension of holidays
The yawning, bashful, back to work stories
The weather’s oddly alarming displays
Talk of how the world is swats us to earth
Talk of how it could be lifts us with mirth
About the Creator
D. J. Reddall
I write because my time is limited and my imagination is not.
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Comments (6)
Your sentiment is on point and the Magritte I adore. Great painting to get ekphrastic with.
Very well said, D.J.! The final couplet is going to stick with me
Fantastic work - I so often feel lifted or dragged down by conversation, and you've provided excellent, vivid descriptions of how those sensations feel!!
Oooo, venal, that's a new word for me. I love how you came up with this poem based on this picture. This was what i thought of when I saw that pic was: "How high are you?" "Dude no, it's 'Hi, how are you?'" "I'm high and you are?" "Hi High, I'm How!"
A reminder of the profound , nature of authentic communication! Love it!
Oh, this is wonderful. I especially love those last two lines. Well done.