TODAY, THE ONLY DAY

Today is the only day we have, it's called Today
Treasure it, why give it away?

Yesterday is forever, ever gone
Bring in new day with a song

Celebrate today as a special gift
A happy heart will soon uplift

Your expectations with elan
Jot down the hours make a plan

Find hidden treasures an clock
Give thanks for and take stock

Of joyful minutes to live alert
Banish disappoint and skirt

Issues not worth your watch
Smile more, don't be a starch

Robot passing in the parade
Give generous to those you aide

Hug someone with all your might
Banish loneliness and delight

Give someone a sweet surprise
Be honest, respectful and wise 

Pump up courage be your best
No time to dally take your rest

Today is the only day that matters
Tomorrow may never come, scatter

Your dreams and lose prime time
Latch onto today and you'll be fine!

Adieu GINNIE CURY By Polly Guerin (Virginia Guerin September 3, 1936-June 21, 2016)

Agostino Carracci's Whispering Angels

My sister died they say

A massive heart attack took her away

The pain an sorry will ease with time

Sweet memories will live on, be mine

To savor when at evening's end

I have lost my dearest friend

Though distant we kept in touch

I loved weekend calls very much

Admired most her brilliant mind

And with it all so very kind

So smart she could have been a judge

Unraveled legal matters without a grudge

A wonderful person her caring smile

She would do the work go the mile

A youthful beauty and blonde

In friendship we had a bond

She championed my creativity

Acknowledged great sensitivity

I'll miss her tender loving touch

She loved her little dog very much

In Canada as children at play

Never thought it would end this way

Sweet memories will keep me strong

Forever in my heart she will belong

Thank you Ginnie for being in my life

Having you as a sister was one

of Life's greatest gifts.....that will 

have evermore meaning as time goes by.

DIVINE PLEASURES: Paintings from India's Rajput Courts: Review by Polly Guerin

Like a mirror into society the art of painting known as Mughal Miniatures, is "a thing of beauty, a joy forever." The lasting beauty of these exquisitely executed miniature paintings, developed in the sixteenth and early nineteenth century for the royal courts of rajasthan and the Punjab Hills in northern India, the artists supported by Mughal Emperors and Rajput Kings.
     The delightful summer exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, DIVINE PLEASURES; PAINTING FROM INDIA'S RAJPUT COURTS, THE KRONOS COLLECTIONS, are meant to move the soul and delight the eye.  Compelling episodes the epic and poetic literature of the Indian subcontinent dominate the nearly 100 masterful paintings---most a 2015 promised gift by Steven M. Kossak from his family's Kronos Collections The exhibition through September 12, 2016  is shown in Galleries 691-693.
The collection was assembled over nearly four decades by Mr. Kossak, formerly a curator in The Met's Department of Asian Art.
      In many ways, the subjects and objects painted in these miniatures are narrative and show how people of India lived in those golden days.  Take full use of the provided magnifying glass because on a close look, you can see the style of living and the types of costumes and ornaments these people were wearing in the medieval and post-medieval era.  These remarkable paintings provide powerful imagery of the myths and epics of the past.  Taken as a meditative experience, the Indian paintings expressed a new way of seeking the divine through Bhakti, or personal devotion. 

      The exhibition is organized into three major sections---Early Rajput and Rajasthan, early Pahari (Pujab Hills), and late Pahari.  Within each room the paintings are shown in relation to the literary traditions of Indian Hinduism. For instance, these miniature paintings with exquisite detail and intact colors were not only the silent spectator to hunting, battles, love and marriages, court intrigue, pageantry, but bear witness to the social and cultural development of medieval India. Pictured Left: The poet,Abul Fazi Presenting Akbarnama to the Emperor.
      Of course, the people shown in the miniature paintings came from the upper class and princely families, but the detail of perfection, the ornaments, like necklaces, bracelets and rings are rendered with such incredible preciseness as well as the textiles, even sheer overlay skirts were a marvel of execution. Under the patronage of their Rajput rulers, many of the principalities of north India developed and nurtured a distinctive painting style.
     Compelling examples include Early Rajput Style; the later schools of Bikaner, Bundi, Kishangarh, Kota and Mewar as well as many of the small courts of he Punjab Hills; Bahu, Bahsoli, Bislalpur, Chamba, Guler, Kangra, Mandi, Mankot, and Nurpur.
The colors used by the artists Mughal era, for example, came from materials like minerals, vegetables, precious stones, indigo, and conch shells, yet the intensity of artistic rendering is as intact as if painted yesterday. The painters sponsored by an emperor used gold and silver to decor the paintings, as such luxury was limited to court painters only. Pictured Left: Persian miniature handmade illuminated Islamic manuscript leaf art Mughal painting.  
      Accompanying this exhibit is another smaller but equally enchanting: POETRY and DEVOTION in INDIAN PAINTING: TWO DECADES OF COLLECTING on the third floor, Gallery 251, the Florence and Herbert Irving Asian Wing. Breathtaking in scope, curator Kurt Behrendt has assembled a treasure trove of miniature paintings, including A Lady Playing the Tampura, Reja Bahwant Singh Revering Krishna and Radha and Krishna Revels with the Gopis, a page from a Dispersed Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherds).  A magnificent silver threaded tapestry adorns one wall in this smaller exhibit; is another enchanting experience.
      Ta ta Darlings!!! I'm awestruck by the  miniature paintings that provide a glimpse into the cultural and every day life activities of the royal and socially elite the bygone golden days of India. I would love to hear from you. Fan mail welcome: pollytalknyc@gmail.com. Visit Polly's other Blogs at www.pollytal,com and in the left-hand column click on the link to Blogs including fashion, visionary men, women determined to succeed and poetry.
      

THE GIFT OF INSPIRATION By Polly Guerin

THE Gift of INSPIRATION

Where fore art thou inspiration?

I seek it here an there for sensation

Why dost thou remain an elusive gift?

Though I research pagebypage an sift

Seeking references in every place

I wonder when it will soon embrace

My music sends me on my way

Do pray, let me be inspired today

Reading newspapers are a source

And archive research is not a loss

For words to pen a pithy story

And tempt readers even if gory

Then suddenly my muse kicks in

Alas dear friends it's time to begin

When I am inspired time disappears

I'm drawn into magical spheres

There's a thrilling feeling of elation

As I set sail with inspired creation

Drawn into a world of my own realm

A tumble of words spill out it seems

I am drawn into this fantastic dream

And something opens up the stream

The gift of inspiration appears on its own

More wonderful, than I have never known.

Ode for JOAN BAXTER: Laid to Rest at Locust Valley Cemetery

ODE FOR JOAN BAXTER

By Polly Guerin 3/31/2016

The daffold path leads me to the grassy glen

Down by the steps we tread our way and then

I will go there and sit upon the marble bench

And will pray and reverie, I will stay there

Where fair Joan is at rest in springtime glory

I remember all the steadfast life and her story

The wind cries through the bending trees

Dropping tears in yon meandering breeze

For our hearts are full of weeping, Joan is sleeping

In an oasis in a garden where memories are keeping

Her erudition was exemplary and freely gave advice

That smoothed the journey benefiting my life

No regrets, she tossed her blonde hair to the wind

She gave all her heart and bade me to take life easy

But I was young and foolish at I did not understand

That there was purposeful meaning in God's plan

For life is never really, I realize, what it seems,

For mere mortals, merely a wondrous dream

Forever in our hearts her memory shall remain

And life without her will never be the same

Now our hearts are full of weeping

Now that Joan is forever sleeping.

FACE-LIFT

FACE-LIFT

Why dost thou wear a frown

Underneath your queenly crown?

Negativity will wear you down

Even if you haven't uttered a sound

Don't prod around with a sullen face

Restore your outlook with grace

Lines and farrows will clear

Let go of the old, my dear

Every little thing you do

Creates inner beauty, it's true

Smile a little smile each day

Watch your cares melt away

Do something nice for a stranger

Be the one who is the arranger

Rewards are great, for all you do

Telltale lines smooth out, it's true

A natural face-lift is the gift

Look in the mirror, vow to shift

Your attitude bring in the new

Forget what lies behind, review

And sing a song of praise each day

Own positive change along the way

Live life with love and lots of laughter

Concerns be gone is what you're after

Even all the little things you do

Creates inner beauty, it's true

Reflected in a new youthful you

A priceless face lift is your due!

Stepping Stones in a Garden 

STEPPING STONES  

By Polly Guerin

Tripping over stones of your own creation

They only block life’s renewal and elation

 Why stumble along on life’s future path

With timid steps you can release wrath

And welcome in the new found release

Uplifting, the anxiety begins to cease

Go slowly, take, one step at a time

You’ll find transformation sublime

 Listen for birdsong, wind in the trees

Bring messages of love and if you please

 Sit down; contemplate on a big gray stone

And remember to focus, you are never alone

 But part of the great universe’s earth plan

Confirm and say to yourself, I am I am

Taking one step at a time!!!