Vincent Van Gogh 84 - An Unpredictable Affair Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

By the time, Vincent had crossed thirty summers,
He had fallen in love, three times, with three types of women.
The first one was a young girl engaged to be married
Who never returned his affection, instead,
Was highly irritated with his unwanted persuasion.
The second one was his cousin Kay
Who was horrified when Vincent expressed his love.
The third was a woman of the streets for whom
Money, food, comfort and a place to stay
Was of greater importance than living in poverty.

Vincent developed deep sentiments for these women.
And each time, he wanted to get married
To the woman he loved, settle down happily, but
Unfortunately, it did not work out, as he desired.
All the three love affairs turned out to be one-sided.
Vincent's love remained unyielding and futile.
But here, back in Brabant, things happened in a different way.
A woman admired him, pursued him and passionately loved him.
It was Margot who was fascinated by the man and his paintings.
She unblushingly, blatantly, made it known to Vincent as well.

Margot was thirtynine years old and desperately wanted love
But living with her unmarried sisters in a conservative family,
She had no opportunity to meet a man or fall in love in Neunen.
"A woman's life is empty if she has no love to fill it, "
She told Vincent, as she flung her arms around him fondly,
Margot was so attracted to Vincent that she loved everything about him,
His firm chin, his broad arms, his powerful nose and his red beard,
Margot felt jubilant that she found love before she was forty years.
Almost everyday, Margot accompanied Vincent on his sojourn to paint.
Sometimes, they walked over ten kilometres, but were happy together.

It was a brief, golden period in Vincents's life!
To be loved without any complaints or criticism,
To be appreciated without any reservations.
To be respected as a flawless painter and as an artiste
To be watched with loving eyes and flow of genuine emotion,
To be considered handsome in spite of harsh lines on his face,
To be accepted and admired for what he truly was!
Vincent was unable to believe that he was loved so completely!
He wondered if this unpredictable affair would ripen into marriage.
Or was it doomed to end in a failure like his earlier love affairs?

A Biographical Poem