Degas’ Cousins
Degas has two cousins
They are sisters
One is already shifting into death
the other is deeply resigned
How else can she respond to mortality?
They wear burdensome Rembrandt cloaks
which fail to warm them
There is too much disease in Europe
Hundreds of years have passed since
Decameron hipsters fled the Black Death
and there is still too much disease
One of the healthy sister’s eyes is higher than the other
Her hair is parted like the Red Sea
There’s a locket at her throat
with a stone like a prune
The dying sister’s diamond earring
glints in the light
which grows ever dimmer
in this gloomy apartment
Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Work by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois appears in
magazines worldwide, including ARIEL CHART . Nominated
for numerous prizes, he was awarded the 2017 Booranga Centre (Australia)
Fiction Prize. His novel, Two-Headed
Dog, based on his work in a state hospital, is available for Kindle and as
a print edition. His poetry
collection, THE ARREST OF MR. KISSY FACE, published in March 2019 by Pski’s
Porch Publications, is available here. Visit
his website to read more of his poetry and flash
fiction.
Tags:
Poetry