Ignis Fatuus is a painting by RC DeWinter which was uploaded on April 3rd, 2010.
Title
Ignis Fatuus
Artist
RC DeWinter
Medium
Painting - Digital Oils
Description
Copyright 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved
Dusk is rapidly descending into night, and you're lost in a marshy thicket. You can't find the path you were following home and sharp brambles grab at your sleeves. Your sturdy shoes are no match for the muddy marsh; your feet are slowly getting very wet, and your skin is beginning to prickle with unfocused fear.
Suddenly, small luminescences appear before you, each one seeming to call out 'This way, this way!' You freeze; the glowing lights have an otherworldly air. And you can't decide which of the beckoning guides to follow.
'Ignis fatuus' (from the Latin for 'foolish fire') is another name for the will-o-the-wisp, the unearthly light sometimes seen hovering in bogs and marshes. The term 'will-o-the-wisp' comes from an ancient folktale, still told in varying versions in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the province of Nova Scotia in Canada and among descendants of the early Scotch-Irish immigrants in the Appalachian region of the US.
In the British Isles, will-o-the-wisps are often defined as fairy fire held by pookas or, in Wales, pwcas (mischievous, sometimes malicious goblins). Others claim the story is about certain man named Will, condemned to walk the earth forever in the Land of Lost Souls.
Some tales, particularly in Ireland, regard the 'ignis fatuus' as the guardian lights of a hidden treasure,
comparable to leprechauns. If one is courageous enough to follow the lights, one will unearth the gold. The will-o-the-wisp is also known as signal of treasure in Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
ignis fatuus
there's a fine mist over the future that gives it a sheen of promise,
compelling the traveller to continue the interminable march in its direction.
how often does that glimmer prove true,
spilling a cornucopia of blessings into the lap of the pilgrim -
and how often is it merely a will-o-the-wisp faerie light,
evaporating slyly as one foot after the other sinks ankle deep in mire?
my shoes are stained with mud,
my ankles boast the cuts and scratches of the bogthorn's embrace.
there have been times I felt that sinister sucking reluctant to let go
but somehow always managed not to panic,
always managed to work free and redirect myself,
even if only to temporary sanctuary.
my shoes are stained with mud,
my ankles boast the cuts and scratches of the bogthorn's embrace.
I look ahead and see the future once more reflecting radiance
that pulls me, robotlike, to claim it.
who knows if this will be the time I find that blue oasis
rather than the sour grey swamp whose mocking face is so familiar?
~ copyright 2001 RC deWinter
This painting has been FEATURED in
Abstract Moods
All aspects of Abstract Work
Arts Fantastic World
Digital Works
Fine Arts Professionals
Glimpses of Autumn
Mutamea - My Change
Pin Me
Surreal Perspectives
Symbolism
Tell Tall Tales
WHAT Interrobang
Thanks to the group hosts for their encouragement and support.
Uploaded
April 3rd, 2010
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Viewed 1,252 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/07/2024 at 11:49 AM
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Comments (6)
Michael Mirijan
This wonderful picture is featured on the homepage of the "Surreal Perspectives" group.
Jim Williams
I said the picture got a WHAT?! before. Now I get to say that this story is featured in TELL TALL TALES.