Pictures on the Wall

He walked thru the doorway and came into the room. There were many people there. He had to turn sideways to find a place to stand. As he turned, he faced the wall.

There were pictures on the white wall in front of him, just as on the walls of the room behind and the one before that. But he gasped as he looked at these. He gasped out loud, and hearing himself he briefly turned away, slowly taking one or two steps and then turning back around.

And as he turned and saw the painting nearest the door thru which he had just come, his eyes filled with tears. Pine trees. In varied browns and many greens. In simple strokes. Pine trees bursting from the rocks and climbing into the sky. Pine trees he had never seen before.

Looking back, he saw an open spot on a bench. He sat down and stared at the pictures on the wall and gave the tears some time to go away.

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The Heroic Century, Travelling MOMA Exhibition
Museum of Fine Arts/Houston
November 2003

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