The Art of a Muse

The history of an epic poem:

I find that God sparks my creativity in mysterious ways, and in his own time. Sometimes I get a flash of inspiration, and at other times, the seeds need time to grow.

Yana Reznik, a recognized muse, published a picture of herself, something she does frequently. But this time it was adjacent to a Facebook post about some of the greatest paintings in the world. The 2 things planted a seed, and I started this work in February of 2014, picked it up from time to time, and finally completed it in January of 2017. Perhaps the poem doesn’t qualify in length as an epic poem, but it sure does qualify as an epic amount of time to finally bring it together.

The Art of a Muse

By David Alan Hoag  --  January 12, 2017

Great art, like our Yana

With each shade of light

Mercurial talent,

Seductive and bright.

I see in “From the Lake”

O’Keeffe’s wondrous range

The light on the ripples

A summer of change.

Dali taught me that time

In life, or in dreams

Is a quite surreal thing

And not what it seems.

Oh, and speaking of dreams

Pablo caught her face

In a faraway thought

In some cubic space.

Monet’s inspiration? 

A calm garden sight

Creates an impression

Of color and light.

And Vincent, dear Vincent

Bathed in terrace light

Has drawn in our eye with

A bright starry night.

And Vermeer, the master

With turn of the head,

Caught uncertain future

In one to be wed.

Renoir paints a luncheon

Beside the Seine stream;

One girl lost in distance.

Of what does she dream?

In the gold of a dream

And time out of place

Klimt wraps up his lovers

In passion’s embrace

Gazing out like Yana’s

Enigmatic smile

Makes me think Da Vinci

Knew her for a while.