Three Cockatoos
By: Rose Hunter
Category: Language Place Blog Carnival, Mexico, pics with poems attached, Puerto Vallarta
| Aperture: | f/2.8 |
|---|---|
| Focal Length: | 6mm |
| ISO: | 100 |
| Shutter: | 1/20 sec |
| Camera: | KODAK P850 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA |
Above the marble plinth by the stairs
they are on their perches. Le dejeuner sur l’herbe
on branches. The little one on the left is naked
a yellow crest. The jungle, like Manet’s scene,
lacks depth. The leaves are brocade
and the birds’ feathers puckered upholstery.
The top one has one wing out: a cloak
for the little one, who cowers
from the third’s open beak, jabbing tongue
and foreshortened body. Above them three
flowers and the stem of another bows over-
or it’s a case of negligence, that top one
with no tilt in his torso;
a precarious cantilever.
Through the lianas a clearing-
or it’s grotesque, this semaphore? Painters,
Zola said, do not share the masses’ obsession
with subject, but here it is, I say to him:
draped over the lower branch like tripe,
something regurgitated, jungle slime,
something, finally, from deep within.
* This poem has previously appeared in Danse Macabre, as well as in my book, to the river.
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7 comments on “Three Cockatoos”
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how many ways to say way cool?! this poem is so good and i love the artwork hugely. such a nice gift, this. huh?
:) Burro. :)
love love the brocaded flowers and puckered upholstery!
Rose~ I love how you have presented this spectacular piece!
~laurie kolp (commenting from my wordpress blog)
i remember this one from “to the river” – and now finally will look up “Le dejeuner sur l’herbe” .. ah, it’s a Manet! now i am all back in Paris, and at the same time, there in the (brocaded) jungle. most lovely.
Rose, this poem presents itself with the grandeur and simplicity of the grand dame gliding through a room filled with gauche young people. She sparkles just enough to gain the attention of all, while a sense of mystery and hidden meanings tantalize the viewer and leave a lingering desire to peer more deeply into those self-assured eyes. So much story wrapped up in white feather cloaks.
Thank you for allowing it out iinto the public for our enjoyment.
Thank you so much, kind people! :) ++
Yes, it’s the Manet, this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Édouard_Manet_-_Le_Déjeuner_sur_l%27herbe.jpg
Claudette! Wow, thank you so much for that most beautiful and generous comment. :)