A Mimosa in Bloom

Painting by Raoul Dufy


A MIMOSA IN BLOOM

We had planned to pretend, each one
of us was Ulysses trying to find his way home.
but we didn’t go sailing, stayed with shiraz,
watched the sail boats in the watercolor
on the wall, a joyous scene
painted by Raoul Dufy.
There was a rapture in observing the curves
of the ropes, how the brown of the masts
had white spots.
We talked of dead cities, Bruges,
with the willow on its Lake of Love,
and how the City of Y
had sunk beneath the water.
Bouquet said, “When I finish my dissertation
on the one couplet rhyme in the entire
Paradise Lost, I will return to my painting
and paint three yachts, each with human teeth,
biting children’s chests where the heart beats.
I will call it an allegory of late capitalism.”
From the bath room, Linda, immersed in water,
Shouted, “I’m bored. Someone tell a joke.
I’m bored watching this rubber duck float.
If you can not tell a joke,
bring me a real mallard.”
Varennas came in, carrying under each arm
a crystal Lalique wild cat. Said,
“Do you know that by the wheeled cart,
where steamed snails are sold,
there is a mimosa in bloom.


Duane Locke

Posted over on The Hold