by Paul Hartal
One winter morning
Upon awakening from a long night sleep
All characters got mixed up with their authors
Including Pinocchio
Who could not decide what was real:
Had he dreamt of being Carlo Collodi
Or was it that Carlo Collodi was dreaming
Of being Pinocchio?
This occurred long after
Upon awakening from a long night sleep
Zhuang Zi woke up from his dream
And was at a loss to figure out
How real was real and asked:
Had he dreamt of being a butterfly
Or was it rather that a butterfly
Was dreaming of being Zhuang Zi?
The next day
As she woke up from a long night sleep
An elephant got mixed up with a crocodile
And she could not decide what was real:
Had she dreamt of being a crocodile
Or was it rather that a crocodile
Was dreaming of being an elephant?
Two years later
Upon awakening from a long night sleep
The moon became confused with the sun
And it could not decide what was real:
Had it dreamt of being the sun
Or was it that the sun was dreaming
Of being the moon?
And in a rare unguarded state of mind
Upon awakening from a long night sleep
God got embarrassed for the muddle
But she could not decide what was real:
Had she dreamt of being Man
Or was it rather that Man
Was dreaming of being God?
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ABOUT THE POET ~
A man of many Odysseys, Paul Hartal is a Canadian poet, author and artist born in Szeged, Hungary. His critically acclaimed books include Postmodern Light (poetry, 2006), Love Poems (2004), The Kidnapping of the Painter Miró (novel, 1997, 2001), The Brush and the Compass (1988), Painted Melodies (1983) and A History of Architecture (1972) ., In 1975 he published in Montreal A Manifesto on Lyrical Conceptualism. Lyco Art is a new element on the periodic table of aesthetics, which intertwines the logic of passion with the passion of logic. In 1980 the Lyrical Conceptualist Society hosted the First International Poetry Exhibition in Montreal., In 1978 Hartal exhibited his paintings at the Musée du Luxembourg and the Raymond Duncan Gallery in France and his canvas Flowers for Cézanne won the Prix de Paris. He also has displayed his oeuvre in museums and galleries in New York, Montreal, Budapest, as well as many other places., He approaches poetry with the credo that the heart of poetry is the poetry of the heart. A recurring theme of his recent work explores the human tragedies of wars and genocides.
Last updated March 22, 2012