picture on the wall 
of my hotel room 
looks nice 
quite pleasing 
now that's art 
its got white storks 
against brownish weeds 
and blue water 
I like the white storks 
... 

I'll watch tv for a while 
keep flipping through channels 
nothing worth while on t.v. 
turn it off 
... 

the room is quiet 
looking at the picture 
the neck of the white stork 
and the weeds in the background 
around the neck 
keep changing places 
the background weeds come toward me 
then another part of the neck moves back 
away from me 
it doesn't look right 
I don't think it's very good art 
I am not an expert 
but I don't like it anymore 
... 

asked my wife 
what do you think of the picture 
"it looks nice" 
notice anything funny about it 
"no - not really" 
notice how parts of the neck 
go back into the picture 
and the weeds in the background 
come towards you 
and then when you look 
at different parts of the neck 
some go back 
and some come froward 
"yes - I see what you mean" 
"very strange" 
I liked it at first 
"so did I" 
 
 

Keith O'Connor 
2002 Jan 01 
Ottawa Canada 
Written in a Hamilton Hotel