I took a wistful reverie To heal from the cataclysm Our confluence had brought. Yet in my trance The muses stabbed me With shards of moments. And I bled tears, When my torment was complete, The tears dried. And the shards froze, Into perfect crystal souvenirs In my heart. Poem previously published at: https://allpoetry.com/poem/15641776-The-Souvenirs-You-Left-by-AbhijitChatterjee
Pre-Raphaelite painter William Holman Hunt painted The Hireling Shepherd in 1851 when he was living and collaborating with John Everett Millais , another fellow pre-raphaelite painter. Hunt's painting remains one of the most controversial depictions of pastoral life in art history. Researchers and academians have poured over the painting, trying to analyze its nuanced language and form. The painting depicts a pastoral scene where a shepherd tries to woo (and flirt with) a village girl. But the posture and facial expressions of the woman indicates that she is evidently being harassed against her wishes by the shepherd. The aggressive posture of the shepherd and angular display of the tough musculature of the hand of the shepherd suggests the belligerent dominance of the male figure within the frame. The setup and the poses suggest that the personal space of the woman is being violated without her consent. The violation of boundaries is also juxtaposed to the wayward flock of she...