love’s serenade

sighs of the cello
echo passion’s ebb and flow
in love’s serenade

2011-05-28
P. Wanken

I generally do not write “process notes”, but do enjoy reading them on others’ blogs. Since this post is so different from others, I thought I’d include some notes about the process.

This picture (by German surrealist Michael Maier) was furnished as a prompt by Writer’s Island. We were not given the title of the artwork — just told to use it as our prompt. To write whatever came. I haven’t done this before — written in response to an image. At first I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it. I didn’t have any words to build on. Yet, the longer I looked at the picture, various thoughts and words came to mind.

Sultry. The woman seems quite seductive/sultry in her nearly sheer dress, with back bared. I believe she also has a tattoo on her backside, barely visible through her dress. It’s a Treble Clef. She clearly adores music or the one who plays (or used to play) it for her.

The cello (though being played only by a butterfly) seems to be serenading the woman.  Perhaps she is dreaming of the one who played for her,  now gone? Or perhaps she’s now gone and awaits her love?

I love the cello’s deep, rich tones. They rise and fall…which, for this picture (for me), is represented by the presence of the water. That lulling “shoosh” as the waves come in and recede.

And I guess all of that is wrapped up in the word “passion” for me…the depth of feeling expressed in music…in love’s serenade — which is what I named this post (not the haiku, because haiku usually do not have titles).  🙂