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.’
