The Wave. The Month of February. (New Re-written Version).

We forget the boats
Barely buoyant in a trough of raw sea.
The giant claw of water poised above them
Dominates this blue world
Almost completely.

Still as a Buddha,
Mount Fuji,
(an afterthought of the artist
to Western eyes,
but really the calm heart of the painting),
Sanctifies the indefinite grey horizon
With its quiet perfection,
An improbable image of repose
In the midst of tumult and chaos.

We forget the boats.
The wave overpowers our traumatised senses
Like a dream of terror
Dredged from the depths of our darkest fears.
But look again,
The thirty fishermen keep to their tasks.
Their catch was good and must be got to shore.
They firmly pull on pliant oars.


Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
January 12th. - 15th. 2019.
Re-written December 5th. 2019.

Image for the month of February on my Japanese Calendar.