Richibi’s Weblog

                                                                                                                                                                          Sassetta (Stefano di Giovanni)

“The Journey of the Magi“ (1435)                                                                 

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                                                                                                                                                                              the sixth of January was the Feast of the Magi,
should you have forgotten, indeed should you have never known,
when the Three Wise Men travelled with gold, frankincense and myrrh
to Bethlehem, to where Jesus had just been born  
  
whatever became of all of it I’ve wondered,
and back when I  was learning about it at school,
and how incongruous to be visited by kings
in a life so otherwise cruel  
 
 
a star, it is said, led the way, low here on the horizon, 
shimmering incandescently beside the two birds,
not any less innocent all of these than cherubs
cavorting in celebration of the transcendental birth
 
Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar, on camels out of the East,
are represented on the more Italianate horses, 
along with the equally more Italianate gentry,
to of course reflect Sassetta‘s more Sienese sources 
 
  
but the pink castles, essentially indiscriminate, 
are there, I’m sure, 
specifically only to enchant you  
  
  
happy new year
  
Richard