Oil on canvas, 41 x 51.1 cm; On view at The Met Fifth Avenue, Gallery 813.
Hammershøi’s Moonlight, Strandgade 30 captures the stillness of night in his Copenhagen apartment, where light and shadow become the true subjects of the scene.
Photograph courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain
A poem by D.S. Yarab, reflecting on the fleeting nature of time, the way memories persist even as moments dissolve, and how the quiet glow of moonlight can stir both longing and serenity.
Whispers of the Waning Light
The misted pane distorts the night,
A wavering world in silvered hue,
The lamplight bends—a trembling sight,
Yet past and present shimmer true.
The clock-hands drift in softened glide,
Their silent whispers feign retreat,
Yet memories, steadfast at my side,
Hold time within their quiet seat.
A voice long stilled, yet clear it sings,
A scent unbidden lingers near,
As if the years had feathered wings,
And bore me back to what was dear.
Yet all dissolves in drifting haze,
Elusive as the frost-bound air,
What tempts the mind, what thought betrays,
What hand still grasps what is not there?
So let the veils of time unwind,
No rush to capture or define—
For in the fleeting, we may find
That all was ours, yet none was mine.
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