This is inspired by my visit to melanie sue's virtual art gallery which is a stunning experience.
A costume model am I,
Dressed in the uniform of obedience,
Military-style tunic and trousers,
Peak cap and burnished boots,
Briefed to tell the visitors just
Enough to tantalise their stay,
The artists' dates, their subjects' worth,
The 18th century was a great timeline,
I have one favourite, an ennobled lady,
Sitting under a spreading oak tree,
Smiling like a never-setting sun,
Stroking a foundling lapdog,
Spying an entire estate,
And I walk in, dutiful, on time,
Checking her ladyship's condition,
Right temperature, right humidity,
No direct sunlight, no earnest suitors,
No earnest suitors, it's not in the guide,
But I do adore her so and she me,
When I walk this gallery at night,
She and I talk about she and I,
And I cannot leave her, no, no,
I am her retainer, in death as in life,
I serve her and she serves me,
She even blocked my move to the Impressionists,
For I am her retainer and I'm sitting for her now.
Chris Fernie, 2009
Poetry by Chris Fernie
Read 398 times
Written on 2009-06-29 at 22:11
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The retainer
I patrol the Old English Gallery,A costume model am I,
Dressed in the uniform of obedience,
Military-style tunic and trousers,
Peak cap and burnished boots,
Briefed to tell the visitors just
Enough to tantalise their stay,
The artists' dates, their subjects' worth,
The 18th century was a great timeline,
I have one favourite, an ennobled lady,
Sitting under a spreading oak tree,
Smiling like a never-setting sun,
Stroking a foundling lapdog,
Spying an entire estate,
And I walk in, dutiful, on time,
Checking her ladyship's condition,
Right temperature, right humidity,
No direct sunlight, no earnest suitors,
No earnest suitors, it's not in the guide,
But I do adore her so and she me,
When I walk this gallery at night,
She and I talk about she and I,
And I cannot leave her, no, no,
I am her retainer, in death as in life,
I serve her and she serves me,
She even blocked my move to the Impressionists,
For I am her retainer and I'm sitting for her now.
Chris Fernie, 2009
Poetry by Chris Fernie
Read 398 times
Written on 2009-06-29 at 22:11
Save as a bookmark (requires login) Write a comment (requires login) Send as email (requires login) Print text
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