The painting is set in a London attic
depicting a doomed youth in trousers electric blue
and face as pale as his shirt.
He lies on his side, flaming hair, peaceful in death
manuscripts ripped to pieces
and a phial of arsenic next to the corpse.
In this sad vista from long ago
I imagine the buzzing of flies
entering through the open window
ignoring the plant on the shelf
to settle on the indifferent boy
who is now beyond the reach of pain
yet it was not his words bringing him fame
but this tragic painting...which made his name.
depicting a doomed youth in trousers electric blue
and face as pale as his shirt.
He lies on his side, flaming hair, peaceful in death
manuscripts ripped to pieces
and a phial of arsenic next to the corpse.
In this sad vista from long ago
I imagine the buzzing of flies
entering through the open window
ignoring the plant on the shelf
to settle on the indifferent boy
who is now beyond the reach of pain
yet it was not his words bringing him fame
but this tragic painting...which made his name.
