Arts Alive San Antonio

                                                 

Gauguin’s Paradise (Riders on the Beach, 1902 )

By LITA MARIE BONCIOLINI

Pink sand defines the scene
More than the six horses,
bronzed natives riding bareback,
legs snug against the muscled sides.

or the white capped green waves
suspended in a unison of motion
just before they dissolve with a soft fury
on the blush shore.

The threatening sky hovers over
the skittish horses, a yellow
slicker awaits a lashing downpour.
A burst of a white in the forefront.
rises like a spring camelia.

I imagine Gauguin, canvas set
at a perfect angle, mesmerized
by the shifting soft-hues
dancing in the dimming light.

He must have paused to taste the
salty sea air, smell the tangy sweat
of the horses, damp from the ocean mist.
He would have hurried his brush,
sensing their nervousness-
their palpable urge to turn toward home,
away from rising breakers
and the storm’s distant rumble.