Still Life, 1670, detail by Jean François de Le Motte
Ivory crinoline curls round the leather strap
that secures all the words she penned afore dying
The whites of her eyes dry, shriveled, gone.
Her lush red lips, chalky— crumbled to dust.
Ivory crinoline once ran through her hair
gleaming a path through cascading black rivers
tumbling across her bone-white bodice
made lush with a deep crimson corset.
Ivory crinoline curls round the leather strap
pinning her missives, her poetry, her lists
above her relief on his studio wall
where he stains his life with her memory.
He fingers the ivory crinoline ribbon
threading deep currents that run through his soul
then he colors his palette with cadmium yellow,
white lead, and bone black, and alizarin crimson.
Ivory crinoline curls circles on canvas when
he saturates his brush and begins.
Brenda Warren 2012
Visit The Mag.
undercaws 
So well-written. I especially love these lines:
Ivory crinoline curls round the leather strap
pinning her missives, her poetry, her lists
above her relief on his studio wall
where he stains his life with her memory.
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Crinoline is such a fine word! I enjoyed your sketch- a lot of colors!
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I like your repetition of the ivory crinoline, and the striking black, white and red colors with all their visual and symbolic power.
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This is splendid and evocative brenda – I just love it! Especially all the colours you use – “alizarin crimson” – mmmhmmm – soooo cool – the poem sings and wails both …
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Painted to perfection!
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Lovely and unique take…I adore the word “crinoline”…
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Richly painted words. Nicely done.
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he saturates his brush and begins – this last line is perfect
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Hey this is an Uber Poem , Brenda, very Great Expectaions,reminds me of my own decaying inner beauty , thanks .
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Oh, the richness of your words and color displayed, woven wisely…excellent, Brenda!
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i love how you start with her and weave the crinoline through her story a bit…then into how it has affected him and his art….quite the impression that…smiles…
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This poem oozes romance in the lush words and thoughts.
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other people called it a rubber band, but you called it a leather strap, and that has something rather sadistic (but not anachronistic) to it 🙂
painting details
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This is very similar to my thoughts on this painting, except my lady was a married woman having and affair with the artist.
Yours interpretation is delightful Brenda.
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Lush. The repetitions just layer and layer. And then you add the color. So nice.
It is a different use of crinoline for me. I only knew “petticoat”.
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It is a different use of crinoline…but I liked the sound and went with it. LoL A crinoline ribbon would be stiff and scratchy…but I could see it play through hair.
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