Sanity is Reality

Or is it?

Van Gogh
Gauguin
Picasso

Would they have seen?
Without the moments “in between?”

The shadowed branches,
the glimpse of light,
the long, dark eternal night
and months of shadowed gloom,

and then a burst of spring
when songbirds sing
and cloud mountains puff
across the horizon.

Poppies dance
and soft winds prance
ruffling the tips of grass
into rivers of gold
meandering into the sun.

But then, there comes a day
which is shorter than the one before
and the voices inside begin to roar
with the certainty
of long nights coming soon.

But which is real?
Which is true?

And do you need both
the sun and the shadows
for creativity to bloom?

I wrote this after watching “At Eternity’s Gate,” a movie about Vincent Van Gogh and his struggle with mental illness. I have known several people struggling to find “reality.” And, I do sometimes wonder what “reality” really is. For it seems to me that these people might see more clarity in the sunlight after living in the darkness, or might taste more sweetness in a fresh summer peach after finding no satisfaction in winter’s fare. Reality is what we make of it.

If you enjoyed this, you might also like:

Poem and photo ©Erika Burkhalter.

Related posts:

Esta experiencia vivida fue única puesto que aprendí bastante con todo lo observado el día que pude asistir. Para empezar el hecho de que puedas ver las distintas perspectivas que tiene cada…