To A Squirrel At Kyle-Na-No

by W.B.YEATS

Come play with me

Why should you run

Through the shaking tree

As though I’d a gun

To strike you dead?

When all I would do

Is to scratch your head

And let you go.

I was reading Yeats’ poetry to find a love poem to paint, and considered if I should choose the most famous one “when you are old”, but when I happened to read this lovely poem “to a squirrel at Kyle-Na-No”, I couldn’t stop smiling, yes  I’m going to paint this one! It’s so lovely and lonely that touches my heart softly, at that moment you felt that inside the poet living a little boy.

So I did this painting, imagine that I’m a big nut, actually I have countless of nuts on my body, and the squirrel didn’t run away but sit on a blue mushroom with a nut, he is looking and smiling at me, seems that he is longing for me to scratch his head.

The moment that you sit there and smile to me instead of running away, the air is pink and sweet, all the flowers bloom with blue color, and the little squirrel is my friend.

But, tell me, the little squirrel,

Will you leave me and run away someday?

Will you be my friend even I don’t have nuts anymore?

Mowen Li

the Persian Princess in W.B.YEATS
Acrylic on Paper
390mm X 540mm
2017.6.7. Philippines