#51 Perspective II: Manet's Balcony

Whether it be
fête or
theater

or just

sitting
on the balcony
watching
the funeral
parade pass
by

Manet
insisted

his family
always dress
to reflect the
occasion.

#50 The Red Model

This
is a painting
I have
wanted
to write about
for some
time

but
the need to
leave my feet
at the door
for fear of
dirtying
the carpet

has
always
constrained
me.

#49 The Lovers II

Memory does not
hold its
shape. Blurring
occurs. Always tricky
getting the light
right & how
much of the
initial energy signature
of love can be
retained? Things
change, return as
indifferent faces
in different
settings. What lasts
is how the lovers
shared a space, not
how they looked
at one another.

#48 The Central Story

The hand
at the throat
that holds
the veil in
place. The small
euphonium. A
closed suitcase.
Death &
departure.

As a
reference point
it would be
hard
to go past
the central story
that the face
of Magritte's
mother
was covered
by her
nightdress
when
her body
was taken out
of the River Sambre
after her
suicide.

Case
closed.

But what
would we find
if we
opened it?