Harlequin and Companion 1901. (A response to an early painting by Picasso).

Before the age of neon, Parisian nights
Were an unfocused blur of shade and colour.

Outside the circus even the well lit bars seemed small and shadowy,
The features of the drinkers unclear, observed through smoked glass and absinthe;
But under the Big Top clarity enters the scene,
The loneliness behind the wildest laughter
Exposed in the curve of a lip.

The eyes wide open, soulful, dark and feral,
The shoulders bunched up tightly, old sacks packed with pain;
The fingers claw like, shaping violent gestures,
Stretched out like the legs of a lace webbed spider
Poised for an easy kill.
They seem ready to scratch the face of the Harlequin,
To draw fresh blood from behind the thin white mask.

It was the sadness of clowns that caught Pablo`s attention,
Impelled him to paint these sad, pale elegant faces,
Defined by black outlines, stark webs of fierce unfreedom
That impose isolation,
Delineate a persona.
The ennui expressed by two languid performers
Revealed in an icon of hopelessness.



Picasso,
Your portraits of the poor, reproduced in books, on postcards,
Have long since been a part of everyday existence,
Encrypted in our minds, engraved upon our hearts.
But are we mere admirers of their technical assurance?
                      
Tonight the city dazzles me, just like a hi tec fairground,
Boulevards packed with young folk, denim clad and larking;
A spun web of brilliant light dispersing every shadow.
But located just a step away, in stairwells and in cellars,
The homeless lie down in the dark, unwanted, out of sight.
Their wide eyes fiercely vigilant. Their faces, thin white masks.


Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
May 29th. - 30th. - June 1st. - 4th. - July 10th. - 13th. - 14th. - 15th. - 21st. - 26th. 2015.
February 5th. 2017. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harlequin and Companion 1901. Version Two.


Two clowns sharing a lunchtime Pernod.

Nothing to eat.

Nothing to say.

Life goes on as usual.


Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
June 4th. 2015.