LIFE OF THE ARTISTS

Gaugin, Vollard the art-dealer tells me,
Employed a witch. She had sought
Maid's work but wasn't much good at it;
He used her as a model. Breton peasants
Urged she be fired; in the resulting fracas
Gaugin broke his foot and limped ever after.

At concerts, politely listening to sonatas,
Cezanne wished a barrel organ was playing
Or perhaps a steam calliope. One of his pictures
Refused to be what he wanted; he hung it
From a noose in a tree. I like to think
Vollard pleaded for the poor thing's life.

DRINKING

Li Po drank alone
Or with his friends.
He also drank
With peasants, officials,
Monks, his shadow,
His reflection, the Moon
(Both full and crescent)
The absence of the Moon,
Memories and a band
Of mountain apes.
With whom can I drink
Who will avoid
Making comparisons?

SAINT OF EXILES

St. Marina, patron of exiles and peasants,
Is irate that Gelasius called her apocryphal
"So what if I was once a sea goddess?
Next to no one worshipped me.
I admit I was eaten by a dragon; but that
Was such a long time ago. I was young and looked
Delicious. It could have happened to anyone."

EXILES, PEASANTS AND A DRAGON

Saint Margaret of Antioch, patron of exiles,

Peasants, the dying and the falsely accused,

Is recognized by her attribute: a dragon,

Either on a leash or draped over her shoulder.

When they are not posing for pictures –

Which they have not done now for years –

The dragon often wanders on his own.

Pope Gelasius called Margaret apocryphal

But it didn't stick. In his cups, the dragon

Insists Gelasius is apocryphal.

He has told Anthony's pig that, sometimes,

He thinks of Margaret as his attribute;

Occasionally he eats one of her peasants.

MORE SAINTS

When they meet for softball games
St. Margaret of Antioch fields a team
Of exiles, the dying, and peasants
Against Margaret of Cortona's
Hobos, the insane and third children.
Cortona's retired prostitutes sit on the sidelines
Chatting with the falsely accused of Antioch.
Cortona has lost six times in a row
But this year has an insane southpaw
Who is master of the screwball pitch.