❤ Arcadia (First Take)

In March 2022, Shlomit Steinberg, the Hans Dichand Senior Curator of European Art, at the #Israel Museum and a colleague of mine turned to me and asked me to contribute a poem on the theme of Arcadia towards her upcoming exhibition under the same name.

During  James Snyder’s tenure, I would share with the Museum community, in the form of an email to All, my poems as they arose. These poems were trying to communicate in a creative way some truth or impression of mine to the Museum community, while at the same time they related and responded to an incident or occasion, such as Passover and The International Women’s Day for instance.

Given my Greek background, and aware of my poetry writing muse, Shlomit thought I would be a good candidate for this poem, and I thank her for that!

Following a short research on the theme of “Arcadia,” I was reminded of its central representation of utopias in the arts and culture, as well as its sense of unspoiled wilderness.

On May 4, 2022, I wrote my first take on the theme.

As I was not happy with the outcome though, I had not shared it with Shlomit, nor with anyone else for that matter. Instead, I had placed it among other papers on my home desk, and had completely forgotten about it.

This Yom Kippur 5784, however,  I tided up my office space and came across it. I reread it and thought to myself that it was not that bad afterall, and for sure worth sharing.

Back to my commitment to Shlomit;

Following my rejection of the first take of the poem, a few days or weeks later, I gave myself another try and wrote anew, the second Arcadia poem which I liked and approved of. I then proceeded to share it with Shlomit, without even mentioning to her that this was my second take.

I am happy to be sharing with Shlomit as well as with you this first version of the Arcadia poem. I hope you will enjoy it.

P.S. To read the final Arcadia poem which was uploaded on the Museum’s audioguide of the Arcadia exhibition check out this link.