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Cactus Gallery LA

TWO OLD CROWS by artist Ulla Anobile

$ 245.00
Found wood, paper mache, acrylics
10 1/2” tall, 11 1/4” wide

This piece was inspired by a poem ‘Kaksi vanhaa varista’ (Two Old Crows) by the Finnish poet Lauri Pohjanpää. My translation is rough, and lacks the musicality of the original poem’s language. But I hope I can convey some of the atmosphere, and of the relationship between the two oldsters.

Two old, old crows/ Nod quietly on the fence by the field.

The breast of the reeds has turned brown,/The sky gray. Raining. It is fall.

‘Even the crane departed,’ one says to his brother/ As if speaking to himself.

A long silence. Then finally/ The other says: ‘So it did.’

Then the oldsters fall silent again./ The rain plays its tune against the lake’s surface.

The head of one smooths down the back of its wing./ The other squints every now and then.

Bent necks turn into feather bundles./ Raining. Quiet. Twilight falls

Over the ploughed fields./ From the distance drifts the scent of the threshing barn.

Two wet, old crows/ Nod on the fence, each in their own thoughts.

‘Well I better…’ one awakens,/ Slowly preparing to take flight.

‘Come back again for another chat./ It was really great to see you again.’


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