a robe, a cloak, a shawl
be it of threads golden and fair
be it of threads to hide despair
from a loom of time, warp and weft
threads torn, tattered, and frayed
woven with hands that reverently prayed
and so the threads blackened by time
took on the light of the blessed divine
the light of stars, the moon and the sun
the weavers task in glory, His will done.
APOGEE Poet
Poet Laureate
Orangetown, New York
Inspired by "Robe of Delusion" ~ a response
La Pia de' Tolomei, 1868-1880, Oil on canvas,
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1828-1882,
Spencer Museum of Art,
University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
~
The story as presented: "
La Pia de' Tolomei
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1868–1880
"La Pia is the last major painting completed by Rossetti. It portrays a character from the epic 14th-century poem, The Divine Comedy, Purgatory by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (circa 1265-1321). According to the poem, a woman named La Pia married an Italian magistrate who kept her in a castle in the malaria-infested swamps of Maremma where she died under mysterious circumstances. In this painting, Rossetti captures the lonely and contemplative young woman toying with her wedding ring. In the foreground, the sundial suggests the passage of time, while old love letters from her husband underscore La Pia’s marital ties.
Rossetti’s model for painting and many others was Jane Burden Morris (1839-1914), who was married to Rossetti’s fellow artist and good friend, William Morris. Rossetti had a passionate affair with Jane and hoped in vain that she would leave her husband. The subject of a wife imprisoned by her husband carried great personal meaning for Rossetti."
