by Paul Hartal
They yelled at her and spat in her face,
Messengers of turpitude threw insults,
Stripped her dignity and deprived her grace:
Well-meaning people from dubious cults.
But she neither lost faith nor confidence;
As her garden was trampled, her windows broken,
She still heard the music, the choral cadence;
Compassion, kindness facing acts of madmen.
She suffered humiliation and abuse;
When her man left her for an affluent bride
They treated her badly, as a useless refuse:
Life became a burden, a pitiful ride.
Still tender light can enter tart labyrinths,
Weeds may look nicer than fading hyacinths.
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ABOUT THE POET ~
A man of many Odysseys, Paul Hartal is a Canadian poet, author and artist born in Szeged, Hungary. His critically acclaimed books include Postmodern Light (poetry, 2006), Love Poems (2004), The Kidnapping of the Painter Miró (novel, 1997, 2001), The Brush and the Compass (1988), Painted Melodies (1983) and A History of Architecture (1972) ., In 1975 he published in Montreal A Manifesto on Lyrical Conceptualism. Lyco Art is a new element on the periodic table of aesthetics, which intertwines the logic of passion with the passion of logic. In 1980 the Lyrical Conceptualist Society hosted the First International Poetry Exhibition in Montreal., In 1978 Hartal exhibited his paintings at the Musée du Luxembourg and the Raymond Duncan Gallery in France and his canvas Flowers for Cézanne won the Prix de Paris. He also has displayed his oeuvre in museums and galleries in New York, Montreal, Budapest, as well as many other places., He approaches poetry with the credo that the heart of poetry is the poetry of the heart. A recurring theme of his recent work explores the human tragedies of wars and genocides.
Last updated March 11, 2012