by Roselle Farr
Vitruvian man
if a man lies on his back, arms and legs outstretched,
but what man would make himself
a target
even to demonstrate divinity
look at Bacchus,
for 150 years St. John the Baptist,
then draped in a panther skin,
given a crown of vine-leaves
while others have no
choice
bathed in a soft light, sfumato
one baby, two baby
over and over
again
here, the baby sits beside the harpy with the red cape,
pointing
an angel really,
and there, a virgin
on the rocks, thank you
her halo a perfect circle, his too
truly, truly
I say to you
Cecilia twists towards and away
the ermine mimicking, its pale coat detailed
touched by her long slender fingers,
restraining,
caressing
Isabella, Duchess of Mantua, wanted one too
and why not let me sit for you
sit for you prego
but all she got was executed
in sanguine and black chalk,
hands crossed
when I look up I see interlacing leaves and branches
then
down and there is
Lisa, her smile creating motion
though it is impossible, hands crossed
but her hair,
her hair disappointingly lifeless, lank, limp
she must have frowned into the mirror,
tilted her head this way, that,
twisting, turning its thin strands between her fingers
jealous of La Scapigliata,
la madonna
Susan Hughes is the author of many award-winning children’s books, from picture books to YA, an editor, and a story coach. Her poems have appeared in Feed, Write, and The Hart House Review. She lives in Toronto, Canada. http://www.susanhughes.ca Connect with her via https://twitter.com/childbkauthor and https://www.instagram.com/susanhughes2518/.
Roselle Farr is a full time Business Analyst, in her spare time she is an amateur photographer, but has also started to explore the world of abstract painting. She loves being creative and a selection of her photos can be found at her Instagram page – rosellemarie_photos.