Listening to a Mural by Maxfield Parrish*

"Don't laugh we are alone
(except for an artist who
only talks with his brush)."
The young man was playing out
the model's part.
"I can be as grand
as any Florentine noble
on the way to a Fete.
Do you think
he would bow like this?"

"And if he did,
should I be impressed?"
The lady forthwith
laughed behind
her smile.

"Yes, be impressed !
or I must find
other ways to swirl this cape
with its yards and yards of checks,
saying  'wait for me'
'be happy with me
these few happy hours.' "

Flapper though she was, she
modeled her storybook part.

She was not all that different
Girls, then as now,
studied the stars and played
guitars the same as enlightened boys.

"My dear sir, I hardly know you
but I have plans.
To presume
upon the Universe
as your Mr Eliot would say.
To track the mermaid's call
before the dancing begins
and this mural comes to an end."

And so the couples came and went
while the artist fashioned
a youth ideally spent.

She put off love for another day
while he swirled his cape 
every which way.

L. Fullington

* The mural described in the poem is "Florentine Fete" 1911-1916,  by Maxfield Parrish, to be found in the American Illustrator's Gallery, New York City.

If you've a comment on her poem, L.Fullington would be pleased to hear from you.