I’ve had the great good fortune to be in Europe recently. This is the first of the pieces I was moved to write:

We queued for 40 minutes

To gain entry

To the Musee d’Orsay

In Paris

Like its big sister

The Louvre

There is a wealth,

A torrent of beauty

In painting and sculpture

Flowing through its spaces

Walking around

With so many other people

I wasn’t always

In the right space

To truly appreciate

The wonders on show

Then I walked in to the Van Gogh exhibition

And it was as if I was

Struck

Physically

Tears came to my eyes

Unbidden

I was transfixed

Overwhelmed

By the painting’s

Colours

Depth

Glow

This moment of great joy

Was worth admission alone

And is why museums exist.

To feed the soul.