The Old Curiosity Shop
by RC DeWinter
Title
The Old Curiosity Shop
Artist
RC DeWinter
Medium
Painting - Digital Oils-paintography-photopainting
Description
Copyright 2016 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved
the portal
down in the old city
the part not yet imploded
to make way for the dizzying minimalism
of this brave new world
there is a shop
or what used to be a shop
but now merely stands
unshuttered
flanked by other buildings
apartments rented or sold perhaps
to lovers of antiquity possessed of the wherewithal
to buy a piece of history
i have walked there often on evenings
when sun gives way to twilight tinged with prussian blue
always stopping to gaze into the empty eye
of what used to be a shop
imagining what sort of business
might have been transacted there
one night
lost in this contemplation
i thought i heard a whisper
shrugged it off as a stray breeze
but then again the murmur of a rusty voice
interrupted my constructions
touch me
now in fight or flight mode
i looked around
expecting to see a flasher
or some other variety of predator
there was no one
and again
echoing now
touchmememememeeee
and shivering realized it was
the blank ungiving window
and i
an alice in an urban wonderland
reached out with fingers splayed
and laid them gently on the surface of the glass
before i could blink the glass grew filmy
indentations gave way to nothingness
i was standing in the shop
surrounded by all i loved best
things thrown away in the foolishness of youth
things i long regretted losing
books and toys and letters and clothes
the dead come back to life
my father
uncles aunts cousins friends lovers
all smiling
talking sixty to the dozen
pets long laid in the earth
wagged tails and twined round my legs
and finally
you
whom i loved best
still love best
sitting quietly in an ancient armchair
brass gleaming between your fingers
i must have fainted
for next i knew i was lying
cradled in the arms of a stranger
on the sidewalk in the prussian blue
and refusing his kind offer of a meal
or coffee or an escort home
made my way back to the emptiness of now
which is where i sit as i write these words
i never walk there anymore
i need no reminders of all I've lost
and will never have again
i must fit myself to the minimalism of now
making what I can
from the wisps of straw left to me
~ copyright 2016 RC deWinter
A view of architecturally-interesting old shops and buildings in London, England on a quiet summer evening. Painted from a photograph licensed from Samuel Zeller.
This painting has been FEATURED in
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ABC
All Art Welcome
Arches
ART - It Is Good for You
Artists Cards
Artists Get Famous
Arts Fantastic World
Cafe Art
Collectors Gallery
Dancing The Walls
Digital Art
Distinctive Paintography
Fine Arts Professionals
Forward Exposure
Grand Greeting Cards
I Wish I Was There
Images That Excite You
Pin Me
Pleasing The Eye
Second Life Photographers
Signature Style Art
The Space Between
TELL TALL TALES
This Way Arts
Thanks to the group hosts for their encouragement and support.
Uploaded
September 23rd, 2016
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Viewed 3,214 Times - Last Visitor from Moscow, ID on 03/24/2024 at 11:32 PM
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Comments (48)
Uma Krishnamoorthy
Beautiful atmosphere and color......love the old world charm ........and a poem that draws you in from the word go!
Bob Christopher
Hi RC...I like your image. Nicely photographed and processed...Cheers Bob fv
RC DeWinter replied:
Most kind, Bob. I can't take credit for the photo but I'm glad you like my reimagining.
Lisa Lemmons-Powers
Congratulations on your feature in the Arches for Artists and Buyers Group for January, 2017! Great image!! l/f
Kristina Rinell
Beautifully painted, Gina ..fascinating architecture and your poem adds another dimension! l/f