On ‘The Meeting’ by Remedios Varo

Chalice Am Bergris

An ekphrastic poem inspired by the work of the Spanish surrealist painter and poet, Remedios Varo.

'Encuentro' by Remedios Varo (Oil on Masonite, 1959)

I selfishly sit in the future

with my azure tortoiseshell and fascinator,

looking at you appear

in the jewellery coffret.

You with my eyes, my cheeks, my forehead;

you with your nose, your chin, your eyebrows;

I always dreaded your departure.

We used to lie down together, agree

that you can never die,

because without you I am a wraith

floating in neverness.

The caskets on the shelves

capture animated snapshots

of our lives together.

No one loves me like you did.

I keep your presence with me

on the tail of my being

with your book of Colombian sayings,

painting of Van Gogh’s sunflowers,

gold jewellery that I have yet to melt 

into huge rings.

It worked.

No end for you.

I love you, mum.

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Chalice Am Bergris is half Colombian, half Pakistani, and lives in London. Her poetry has been published, in print and online form, in Europe, America, Africa, Asia and Australia. She has won the ‘Over the Edge’ poetry prize in Ireland and ‘Black Spring Press’ competition, to be included in an anthology of the Best New British and Irish Poets. She was a finalist in the ‘Write Bloody UK ‘poetry competition, was nominated for the ‘Best of the Net’, longlisted in the ‘Building Bridges’ poetry competition, shortlisted and published for the ‘Spectrum Identity’ poetry competition and shortlisted for the ‘Creative Future Writers’ Award.

About the Artist: Born in Girona, Catalonia in northeastern Spain, Remedios Varo was a Surrealist painter and poet. Her father—an engineer—recognised her artistic talent from a young age and encouraged her to copy his technical drawings, which would influence her compositions for the rest of her life. She was one of the first female students to attend the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid, where she enrolled at the age of 15, and later received her diploma as an art teacher. In 1935, after moving to Paris, Varo met other Surrealist artists, and was later introduced to the poet and co-founder of the Surrealist movement, André Breton. After fleeing the Nazi-occupied part of France in 1941, Varo settled in Mexico, where she was one of a small but important group of Surrealist poets, painters and photographers. These artists included Kati Horna and Leonora Carrington, with whom she not only forged a creative alliance but also an enduring, life-long friendship. Here, she produced some of her most exquisite paintings between 1953 and 1963. She died suddenly aged 54, at the height of her career.