Brush Strokes and Vodka

I sat and stared at the painting. Its title had me bewildered:
Beauty as Seen Through the Eyes of a Baffled Cloud. The painting seemed
to be an overhead view of a family outing. I sipped my vodka and tried
to keep an open mind.

A group of trees with bare and horrific branches made themselves
visible to my probing eye. It seemed odd that the branches were bare in
the middle of summer, but on closer inspection I noticed that the
horrific branches were actually horrific snakes that had eaten all the
leaves, and now seemed to be making their way to the family outing. It
was so vivid I wanted to scream out and warn the family.

I took another swig of vodka to soothe my nerves and noticed a pair of
hawks on the horizon. "Yes!" I shouted. Those snakes would soon be hawk
food. I was beginning to like this painting. Then I saw the hunters.
They were huddled in the brush, pointing their barrels at the hawks.
"No! No! Don't shoot the hawks!" I shouted. "They're coming to kill the
snakes!

I was shaking; the vodka dribbled down my chin. It was then I noticed
the protesters. They were carrying signs that read: Stop The
Hunters!

One of the hunters pointed his gun at the protesters. "No!" I screamed.
"This is insane!"

Then I heard the announcement: "Due to an unavoidable delay in its
transit Beauty as Seen Through the Eyes of a Baffled Cloud will not be
displayed until next week."

I stared at the blank wall and took another sip of vodka to help stifle
my embarrassment.