Roman, 2nd century AD, marble
Ode to Cutting Off a Nose by Joan Currie
There was a young man who was vain,
His self-absorbed nature was plain.
Despite all the money he’d spend,
No one thought of him as a friend.
He was vengeful, spiteful, and mean,
People say he was rarely seen.
His mother was wary of him,
His future – decidedly grim.
One day when he looked in the mirror,
He pronounced that he looked rather queer.
So he cut off his aquiline nose,
And fed all the parts to the crows.
As I was examining the marble Head of a Youth at the Botticelli Drawings exhibit at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, I thought of the expression, “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face,” as well as Vincent van Gogh cutting off his ear, and the ominous “Wheat Field with Crows,” one of van Gogh’s last paintings executed in 1890 before his death. The above poem was born out of that Joycean stream-of-consciousness.
I wonder what other people think when they look at great works of art? Who knows, but it could be very interesting!
Satin & Sand 