From Robyn on Patreon in 2022 She reached the top of the staircase. There, beneath the open skylight, hung a painting that she recognised, though for the life of her she couldn’t think where she’d seen it before.
It was an image from antiquity. A row of columns stretched before her eyes, shimmering in the afternoon sunlight. Beside them ran a canal, on which a barge floated. Two oxen stood on deck. Above them, on the wheelhouse roof, sat a man cross-legged, playing an instrument that resembled a banjo. He wore a round, red hat and his eyes were closed. His tiny face looked enraptured by the music he was playing. The sky felt like autumn, and in it were suspended three geese flying towards the columns.
As she looked, the canal began to ripple. The barge slowly drifted towards her, and the drone of music reached her ears. The music resounded in her spine and she felt goose-pimples walking up her back. The man on the wheelhouse opened his eyes and smiled. A leaf swirled down from the sky to her feet. Seamlessly she was inside the picture, and the frozen moment had thawed into real time. But now she was part of the painting…
Recorded by Ringo M. Stardust at Tiny Ghost studio C
Tamboura overdub and mix by Charlie Francis at Stwdio Penty