Opium Dreams

[alanstancliff]

This is inspired by the famous classic poem Kubla Khan by the English poet Coleridge, who is said to have dreamed this poem after taking opium for an illness. He woke up and immediately began to write it down and had gotten the first part down when someone knocked at his door. He was sure that could not forget such a memorable poem. After the visit, he attempted to recall the rest of the poem, but he only had the part of it. Nevertheless, this is considered to be one of the classics of English poetry. The design is based on the poppy flower, the sap of which is the source of opium.

http://www.alanstancliff.com/gallery...piumDreams.jpg

[WolfMoonHP]

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree :
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

Alan...One look at your painting and the poem came back to me...and it's been probably 40 years since I last read it!

There were a few poems over the years that stuck with me, some that I can still recite in their entirety, but this was so visually beautiful in its mental imagery that I loved it when I first read it and still do.

Looking at your poppies, it was as if I were reading the poem again for the first time...

Thank you!
---
Will

[alanstancliff]

Yes, Will,

That poem is so utterly beautiful it almost hurts.

Thanks for your kind words.