Two Little Boys

WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE

TWO LITTLE BOYS

Two little boys in a great big world,

Happily engrossed

In Hong Kong's towering buildings;

Which one do they like most?

But their 'great big world' is tiny!

They can fly from place to place;

They think nothing of jetting

Away from their Australian base.

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When I was their age, or older,

My world was really immense;

I couldn't imagine the vastness

Beyond our garden fence.

As for traveling overseas.......

That was a crazy notion.

I could picture the Channel

But not a great wide ocean.

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I don't think I spoke on a telephone

Till I was in my teens.

  My grandsons look at iPads

And see amazing scenes.

But I do not envy them

Their small, available Sphere,

A world that is so reachable

And touchable and near.

My world was far more amazing

Because it was in my mind.

Full of possibilities,

Hiding for me to find.

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                                                        Canaletto

BEFORE THE CLICK

We click and click so effortlessly;

We click at everything we see.

Those we don't fancy we then 'delete''

So we click, click, click walking down the street.

But Canaletto, in the past,

Made images that were made to last.

Bridges and every blade of grass

Were not mere things that he would pass;

Ragged clouds rolling through the sky

Were not just items floating by;

They were beauties to preserve,

And that he did with grace and verve.

Before beginning he had to drag

His easel and he dared not flag;

He had to choose an elevation

Exactly right for the situation.

He had to climb on sills and ledges,

Striding over walls and ledges.

No doubt he stretched his aching back;

And he'd straighten to bring the feeling back.

After such physical exercise

Complete collapse would not surprise.

Modern man, without a doubt,

Would feel completely rusted-out.

The head would nod, the eyes would glaze

And we'd go to bed for several days!

 Canaletto made his great climbs

To preserve his scenes for later times.

But I've a feeling that he would

Have 'clicked' like us, if he only could!

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