Revelation: A Family of Deer Drinking Water
 |
Nikoláy Aslánovich Pirosmanashvíli Three Deer Drinking Water | 1917 | 95×145 cm |
As father, mother, and fawn lapped,
their tongues,
like the mallet of a Singing Bowl,
tap-tap-stir to life
Her reflection, Her voice.
The Deer, not startled,
honored their Provider,
welcomed Her resonance:
For millennia, Deer
you enjoy My gift
of water, food, land.
Reciprocally,
I rejoice, respect
your peaceful, profound hoof print
upon My soil.
Take heed, Deer.
Be vigilant.
Fear the Assassins.
Cruel
sadistic - selfish
impudent - ignorant!
Traps, bullets, crossbows,
unnatural - unnecessary - unacceptable
Death!
Deer,
breathe easy, have faith.
Solace survives.
Compassion, comprehension
rises from the soul of human admirers,
Believers in your innocence and grace,
committed and resolute
Protectors of your entitlement to Life.
Deer, have trust.
Upon my celestial body,
within my name
- Earth -
My Deer, My treasured art,
you are revered in many a heart.
© Jeannette Louise Smith
This poem is dedicated to deer in Arlington, the United States, and globally.
About the Artist: Nikoláy Aslánovich Pirosmanashvíli, or Niko Pirosmani (1862 - 1918) was a self-taught Naïve artist from the Georgian village of Mirzaani. In addition to expressing the social conditions of his time, Pirosmani was fond of nature and rural life; he was the only Georgian Animalist. He painted primarily on oilcloth, however, Three Deer Drinking Water was painted on cardboard.
