I saw the future.
I painted it on the back of a fag packet.
There was enough space, trust me,
For emptiness.
I got the impression that something was wrong
When I saw the sands of time running in reverse.
I witnessed each grain of sand defy gravity,
Fighting themselves
To comfortably settle into the top bowl.
They didn't squabble.
They didn't argue.
They knew the drill,
Even if I didn't.
If the future is so empty
Why would the sand run to it?
Why would it return to a desert?
Maybe because it knew then
That which we are only just cottoning on to:
The king of the desert 
Is he who digs the deepest well.

Francisco Goya, Spanish romantic painter, was born today in 1746.

Vincent van Gogh, Dutch post-impressionist painter, was born today in 1853.