Sunday, 29 May 2022

#877 - lifting the lid (ekphrastic)

 1930_3-web-4.jpg



30.v.22

877 

3.150

lifting the lid 

ekphrastic for R.D. McCormick’s 1895 ‘A Tasty Dish’ 

in the Hinton Collection at NERAM


supercilious 


who sees past the samovar?

faux ancestors, ancestresses

the mantlepiece figure very civil war 


everything here is civil 


leadlit armorial 

shows some blows brought us 


shone leather on the leopard skin 

over the china rug 


she does demeure – tea rise, pour 

is that tiara in her hair 

or some lost laurel?


a rosy light 


the world’s woes in print

are more than the man

like the map of empire’s burden

here casually cast


there is nothing on their plates 


you see the steam 

butler considers leftovers for later

now he is lifting the lid


this picture can be hung on their wall 

happily ever after 


No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.