The Painter
Revolution does not know nuance,
Nuance does not allow change.
I once met a painter while walking through a Jerusalem Market. She was dreaming a world of colours mixed in such harmony, that I; who have always wished to mix people of different shapes and colours in such a manner, stopped — to find inspiration for a while.
She paused and looked up.
“Are you a Rembrandt or a Picasso?” She asked me.
I wasn’t quite sure, so she painted me a picture of words.
Picasso was a Revolutionist, Rembrandt, a conformist.
Picasso broke the rules, he was loud and flamboyant and never painted beyond the surface.
Rembrandt longed for harmony and order. He was methodical and disciplined. He would paint with a two haired brush,
layer upon layer upon layer upon layer.
He lived in poverty in a time of peace, whereas Picasso lived in affluence during a time of war.
People are generally one or the other. Which are you?
I admired both painters… and could not decide.
Some days I’m Rembrandt, other days I’m Picasso.
I’m sure you could pick for me,
it is easy to define the other and place them in a box.
But I don’t know who I am,
and I think I may never know.
