Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Masterworks Series: The Card Players



Pipes and Perspective

Rainy days bring farmers inside
Waiting for nature
To allow their tending and tilling.
The card table calls
To men seeking to avoid
The boredom of delay;
A game of chance and skill
To pass the time.

Smoking his clay pipe
He leans against the wall
Observing the game.
Giving no indication,
He quietly calculates.
Knowing what he would do with that hand,
Wondering what the player will do,
He watches the game unfold.

Awaiting the next round,
He is readying himself for involvement.
A farmer never simply waits.
Whether stopping for rest
Or halting for the elements,
His mind is at work
Considering his options
Contemplating the next move.

Working with the hand he is dealt,
A peasant farmer moves diligently
To influence the outcome.
Living in connection with the earth,
He knows his limits
And constantly adjusts,
Hoping that the fields
Will grant a good harvest.

One bad hand would bring despair
Were it not for the knowledge
That there will be another.
So he pauses
Sharpening his mind,
Puffing his pipe,     
Waiting for a new deck
And a seat at the table.

                                                 ~ CK 





__________________________
Image: The Card Players at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Artist: Paul Cézanne (French,1839–1906)
Date: 1890–92
Medium: Oil on canvas



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