Upon Gazing At The Cut Sunflowers Of Vincent Van Gogh
upon seeing the cut sunflowers of vincent van gogh
i cannot but think about the tragic moment when
he cut his ear, when blood oozed
when at the end, finally he took his life away,
this thing happens when one knows much about
the life of another
this familiarity that breeds contempt,
and so gazing again at the painting of vincent,
i start with real sunflowers in my mind, the one that mother
planted in her garden when she was alive,
i think of the sun and the sunshine touching my face
i think about warmth and life and oozing verve
the vivacity of all things around my little world,
the field of sunflowers and the bees and the butterflies
and birds
i pretend i have not read about the life of vincent
i pretend i have not heard about the stories of mother
i just gaze again at the cut sunflowers. just that.
now there is joy in my heart. The suicide story does not exist
in the bold yellow petals, on those three huge sunflowers
look at them again, they are the symbols of our smiles.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Prayer for a profusion of sunflowers
Send sunflowers!
With my turkey-bone whistle
I am calling the birds
To sing upon the sunflowers.
For when the clouds hear them singing
They will come quickly,
And rain will fall upon our fields.
Send sunflowers!
poem by Amy Lowell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Sunflowers After Sex.
After the sex she stood
In front of the Van Gogh
Painting and gazed. Never
Saw that last night, she said.
It was dark, Max replied.
She touched the painting
With her fingers. Why have
A painting of flowers when
You can go out and buy some?
She asked. They last longer this
Way, he replied. So did you
Paint this? She asked in a state
Of semi undress, her eyes sleepy,
Her hair in a mess. No, Van Gogh
Did, he replied. Is he a friend of
Yours? She asked rubbing her breasts.
He sighed and shook his head. No,
Van Gogh painted that many years
Ago, now he’s dead. It’s a bit yellow,
She said, looking at the painting
Closer, what are those yellow flowers
Supposed to be? Sunflowers, he said,
They’re big flowers; people grow them
For real. She raised her eyebrows and
Pulled a face. What about that drink?
She asked. Sure, Max replied pouring
Her gin in a tall glass. She took, sipped
And winked an eye. What about more
Sex? She sighed. Sure, Max, looking at
Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, boringly replied.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Lostness.
Mickey had locked himself
In the house and his mother
Was concerned he’d do something
To harm himself so you went
Around and knocked at the back
Door and called his name and
He said go away I don’t want to
Talk to anyone but you stayed
And persisted and he finally
Opened up and let you in and
You said why this? And he said
I’m so like my old man that I
Hate myself and he stared at
The Van Gogh print on the wall
Above the fireplace with a look
Of deep unhappiness and lostness
On his face. You are what you make
Yourself you said taking in Vincent’s
Sunflowers the way the vibrant
Picture hung there the smell of
Flowers in the late evening air.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
PASSAGE for Allen Ginsberg
Sunflowers beside the railroad tracks,
sunflowers giving back the beauty God gave you
to one lonely traveler
who spies you from a train window
as she passes on her way to another train station.
She wonders if she were like you
rooted to your bit of earth
would she be happy,
would she be satisfied
to have the world glide past and not regret it?
For a moment, she thinks so,
then decides that, no, she never could
and turns back to her book of poetry,
remembering how hard it was to get here
and that flowers have their places as people do
and she cannot simply exchange hers for another,
even though she wants it.
That's how it is.
Her mother told her.
Now she believes her,
although she wishes she didn't.
At fifty-three, she feels the need
to rebel against the inevitable winding down.
She already feels it in her bones,
feels artery deterioration, and imagines
cancerous indications on medical charts
she hopes will never be part of her life,
as she turns back to the window
to catch the last glimpse of the sunflowers
that sent her thoughts on a journey
from which she knows she will never return,
only go on and on
and then just go.
Sunflowers
i know where you go
when you want to fall
why do you want to be broken?
i know where you go
when you want to fall
yes your friends they tell me everything
yes i know where you go
yes i know what you do
yes i know the awful things you say
and who you say them to
yes i know where you go
yes i know what you do
i know how you feel
you get crazy inside
they say it runs in the family
i know just how you feel
you get crazy inside
your mom she said that
you are just like me
i can see it in your eyes
i can see it in you shaky hands
i think you think i'm stupid
you don't think i understand
i see you and i see myself
when i was a younger man
when you were a child
you were happy and free
you were my reason to live
i would die when you smiled at me
i can still see you
i remember you painting
sunflowers in your room
i know where you go
when you want to fall
hey don't you want to be happy?
i know where you go
when you want to fall
your useless friends
they tell me everything
everything
i see you run around in circles
i see you digging your own hole
i see you fight the fights
you just can't win
i see you losing self control
what it does to me
deep down inside
i hope you will never know
when you were a child
you were happy and free
you were my reason to live
i would die when you smiled at me
i can still see you
painting flowers on the wall
i remember you happy
i remember it all
chorus
sunflowers in your room
all i want to remember
pretty pictures on the wall
i remember you happy
i remember it all
all i want to remember
sunflowers in your room
sunflowers in your room
song performed by by Everclear
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Gazing At Sunflowers
Your first wife’s friend
came in with her
for a coffee and chat
and you were sitting
on the sofa
with the sleeping cat
and she looked
at the Van Gogh print
of sunflowers
over the mantelpiece
above the open fire
did you paint that?
the friend asked
staring at it
through John Lennon
type glasses
no you said
it’s a Van Gogh print
oh she said
peering closer
I do like flowers don’t you?
Yeah you replied
sunflowers have a way
when Van Gogh
pushes them through
and she stood in silence
taking in the print
and flowers
and colours
and you noticed
she had a run
in her stockings
from the back
of her knee
to where
her thigh disappeared
beneath her drab dress
and your first wife
came in and said
oh you’re not looking
at that painting are you?
He knows all about
those arty types
with their odd ways
and weird eyes
and her friend said
turning round
scratching her ass
I know nothing
of art and such
it’s way out
of my class.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Ideal
Remnants of Kansas and Sunflowers--
Play hopscotch with Angels of my door...
Guardians of January...
Guardians of Evermore;
Turtles and Hares ever present...
Seem at times to be gone but are not--
Remnants of Kansas and Sunflowers--
Talk of the spiders that they've caught;
Allowing no viscious webs of deceit...
No Big Birds with Monsterous minds...
No Ghosts of the past-nor shadows to last...!
But only Guardian Angels so very kind! ;
Dedicated to: Tom Stevens (Stephens)
poem by Theodora Onken
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
310
sleep now baby it is late
dreams, have some dreams
you need dreams to appease you
i will not be with you
anymore
come summer time
the sun shines in full glory
and i will be with my sunflowers
the wind
and the moon and some stars to carry me away
from my previous rainy days,
so sleep now,
dream about the sunflowers and let your hair flow freely
with the wind,
forget him for a while, think some more,
destiny awaits you
with so much anticipation,
without plans.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Canadian Canary
sleep now baby it is late
dreams, have some dreams
you need dreams to appease you
i will not be with you
anymore
come summer time
the sun shines in full glory
and i will be with my sunflowers
the wind
and the moon and some stars to carry me away
from my previous rainy days,
so sleep now,
dream about the sunflowers and let your hair flow freely
with the wind,
forget him for a while, think some more,
destiny awaits you
with so much anticipation,
without plans.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Windowsill
I rested my head on the windowsill
The wind cuddling me like it did to you
When we were in love
We were together
I felt the comfort
From the wind
Like you must have
Sensed
The fields
Rolled by
Cornfields
Sunflowers
The scarecrows
Dancing with the wind
The green
Your color
The color of your eyes
A bit lighter though
Like if lit from behind
By the sun
The train moved forward
So did the time
Caressing me
Like the wind
Leaving behind
The cornfields
Sunflowers
The green
And the
Memories
Of you
poem by by unknown author
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
When A Sunflower Dies
It's sad to watch sunflowers die
That once were strong and bright
Their thick stalks drawing food from soil
To reach amazing height
Their faces once were giant stars
Their hearts an intense brown
Their sunny petals always smiled
And formed a golden crown
When stalks are cut and brought indoors
To parlors decked with grace
They bring its owners fleeting joy
With fresh and glowing face
Nobody cares when in a week
Life ebbs from each dry stem
Each petal shriveling and spent
To certain death condemned
It's sad to watch sunflowers die
That once were strong and bright
Their thick stalks drawing food from soil
To reach amazing height.
poem by Liilia Talts Morrison
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Hope For Something Unpopular
Van Gogh's expressionism
did not offer him anything
only one painting during
his lifetime was sold
no one liked it
because he was not a follower of anybody
it was only after so many years
after his death
that his sunflowers begin to be noticed
midway between insanity and spirituality
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Ink Sketch
poetry solitary
mind hobby
silence
still point
spinning world
cascade
canvas words
van gogh
sunflowers
burst
blue sky
poem by Doug Bentley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Easy
it would have been easy to write
about sunflowers
gazing to the light of the sun
and feel the wind
and hear the songs of the leaves
in an orchestra of nature
something so happily designed
something even so palatable to the tongue
nice to hear
soft to the feel of the skin
as soft as silk
or kapok
but times are hard
the truth is
you are alone in the hospital and
worrying about how to survive an ordeal
with relatives visiting only
for 15 minutes
and they go on with their own lives too
so i cannot write about the sunflowers
someone writes it
for us
i write something truthful to you
this existence of the mice and how it is trapped
in the gutter
under a heavy rain
with thunder and lightning
when everyone is soundly sleeping on their warm beds
when all the lights are turned off
when silence speaks again
without any bar
as to what to say
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Heart
I am old enough to know the truth
You are young and I older than you
I have never pretended not to be the age I am
You always wanted to be with a younger man.
There is no doubt you are young and smart
But when it comes to love you struggle with your heart
I wish I could be the one to set it free
Take you in my arms and place it next to me.
Time has passed and time forgotten
For then the sky was filled with clouds of cotton
When my dreams of yesterday seemed real and close
Like meeting you that day in a field of sunflowers I suppose.
But as with life all things must come to an end
Never knowing, never knowing where and when
So please take heart from what I finally have to say
For you had stolen its beat since that very first day.
poem by JeanJacques Evendon
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
sunflowers turn their heads
gazing at the sun always
from dawn until dusk
haiku by John Celes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Haiku In Colours
van gogh
in the field
etching haiku
onto canvas
each stroke
a colourful haiku
for posterity
sunflowers
eleven brothers vie
for attention
the fortunate ones
coloured bright yellow
the rest resign
themselves to fate
bow humbly
and live in the others' shadows
eleven lucky blooms
worth more than a hundred millions
they do not fit into my pot
but in my heart they blaze in glory, always
van gogh's genius pours
unrelentingly
from eye to eye,
heart to heart
igniting the artist's passion
in each of us
once in a while, i too feel like
etching haiku in colours
encapsulating that extraordinary moment
ideas in wondrous colours, shapes and dreams
so that they too would turn out to be loving works of insanity
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Be A Sunflower
Sunflowers just can't help it,
Turning toward the sun
Whatever the weather.
So be a sunflower today,
Have fun!
Be better!
Face the sun!
poem by Harriet James
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
My Red Dirt World
Did you ever see a red dirt road
With a red dirt pond ‘long side?
Brilliant yellow sunflowers
In the grass where burrs might hide?
Oil wells thriving endlessly
White gobs from a cotton patch
Bolls in the patch ready to burst
Sweet blooms like a bird that hatched
All my red dirt rides in the country
Are laced with these wondrous things
They sum up the life I’ve lived so far
Kinda tug at my worn heart strings
Ah yes, such red dirt memories
As I wonder through life’s plan
But I do my best along the way
For I’m just a red dirt man!
poem by Marilyn Lott
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Aim Higher
Through win and lose it's best to try, to seek the highest good!
Through hit and miss, and laugh or cry, to do the best you could!
The world is like a hungry man that aches for peace inside!
In Heaven above, God has a plan, yet Man must lose his pride!
God tells us straight, 'If you'd obey, war's but a memory,
With peace surrounding you each day and children full of glee!
What use is conflict all the time? What use is despot rule?
What use is hardship wrought by crime? Why live life like a fool?
Far better, then, to think things through! To mull the pros and cons.
To pray then plan what you should do - this is the best response!
Aim higher! Lift up holy hands! Like sunflowers, stretch above!
Then as you follow Christ's commands, your life will fill with love!
While sunshine warms the outer skin, His Love can warm the heart!
Aim higher! Let the Saviour in, so that new life may start...'
poem by Denis Martindale
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!