Monet Between Windows

A beautiful poem by a beautiful person I had the privilege to teach...

i do not understand art,
but with Monet, it's a different story.

i vaguely know he's what a critic would call
"impressionist";
the word that creates impressions
like that on a half ripply lake.

i do not understand art,
but i want Monet on the little stretch of wall
between my box windows.

yes, his pictures to me
are a whole lot of swirling colours,
all in little strokes and shades here and there

when i come close to it,
i realise i don't understand it all,
except that it seems to be made of
millions of beauty beaded together in a string of thought,
just like the human brain perceiving beauty
(is his canvas the human brain?)

but what is so stunning when i look at it
from the opposite wall, just like a view
from my box window?

that's why i want it,
a Monet between my box-windows,
Like a third painted window on the wall

which reminds me
when i come close,
i do not understand it at all.

Ishani Ghosh