Taking In The View

Tissot painted a young lady
leaning forward in a boat, her chin
balanced on the left palm, formal
pose of contentment,
while oar and cattails kept
stillness in line. Nothing moved
beyond that point, his framed perspective.

Vuitton promotes you
lazing back on a skiff, dark
scalp of rushes
as your hair sways long
and leeward. The rest of you pale
complexion and light
canvas clothing –- natural
drift into dreaming

of life beyond
the press and cinema.
Your shoulder sports a sling
purse filled with fruit
and paring knife. Wholesome girl
getting in touch with her core values.

No one would guess -- how much
you love cutlery, slitting smooth
palm, heel or wrist
to feel alive, red leaking
through the splintered flesh

the same way sunrise
seeps through the sedge grass
or those cracks between the curved
planks of your boat. True self
a strange lapidarist.

And no one would guess
that jeune femme in her white gown
and graceful hat –- wanted to form
a fist, cursing the painter,
sinking her nails
into a stronghold of rage.