Étiquette : art

Hobo

What makes a man seem more like a hobo ?
What first impression of him who you don’t know ?

Is it the clothing, the hair, the face,
Or his backpack ?
When you may not see him beg,
What tells you of his lacks ;
If he’s using both his legs
And isn’t truly marked… ?

Is it the walking, the look, the pace,
Or his manners ?
When you may not see him stand,
As we mostly pass him by,
And not waving up his hand
At one with a suit and tie…

What makes a man seem more like a hobo,
What observation, clear, that will lead you to know ?

He was sitting on the terrasse yesterday,
Sunburned in a too obvious way
Still you’re never quite sure he’s a vagrant

Now he’s staying on a bench, at a length away
Is that how he looks a little more astray ?
But you’re never that sure he’s so errant

What makes a man seem more like a hobo ?

I realize he’s not talking over his phone
Yet his expression tells you so
He has that conversation all alone
At least the sign of a life weirdo
Or only what it seems from my window…
And who’s the guy, I wish I’ll never know.

(Painting : Edvard Munch « The night wanderer »)

(do not show) The OK version of yourself

Portrait-of-George-Dyer

—

The OK version of a song is never satisfying.
When you bring the effort in not screwing it up
Instead of wanting the song to be greater,
That’s playing defensive, that’s playing too modest.

Don’t be modest by the way.
If you avoid being pretentious too obviously,
It’ll always look, feel, or sound a bit restrained.

And the OK version of that song
Becomes a revealing feature
Of how you live your own life,
Scheme your plans, aim the next border, the next chapter,
Trying so hard not to fail
That you never succeed in the end.

If you deliver that OK version of yourself to the world,
Don’t expect any bigger consideration.
The world is not a secret talent searcher.
For better and often worse,
It only pays attention to an edge at the moment,
To a movement or idea so undeniable they can’t wait.
It only shows interest for greatness and stupidity,
Beauty and horror,
Naked truth and gross lies.

Oh wait,
Let’s be fair,
There’s another hook actually.
Being awkward, special, unusual, unexpected…
Yet not in a shy way :
See, you can’t just be weird on your own,
It has to mean something.

And it’s not « OK »
It’s not « alright ».
It’s you.

—

(Painting by Francis Bacon – « Portrait of George Dyer »)