by Paul Hartal
(In 2007 Parti Québécois leader André Boisclair
unnerves Asians by referring to them as
"slanted eyes")
In a red coat she walked on black high heel shoes
In a crowded street between men with neckties
As we passed by she cast a casual glance at me
And I admired her radiant almond eyes.
Once on a sunny afternoon in late August
I saw her again in a park under blue skies
The wind moved gently lacy cirrus clouds
And I adored her graceful Asian eyes.
My ancestors did not build the Great Wall
Nor did they belong to ranks of Samurais
But when the Moon rises west of the Silk Road
I dream about the girl with comely oblique eyes.
As the years slip by and we grow old together
We walk hand in hand on fields of butterflies
Why do you love me? She asks and I tell her:
For your beautiful soul and your slanted eyes.
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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 11, 2012