NIGEL HUMPHREYS POET

                                     Argenteuil

                                            by Manet

the boatman waits for an answer

he has spun silk

cast its thread upon the wind

it hovers in the rigging seeking purchase

while he worries the fabric of Gabrielle’s

shuttering

on this the hottest of dog days her mind

freezes. She crawls into it

folds down the hatch door, picks

at the meadowsweet

cherished, distrusted in her lap

                                   She knows sailors.

He crosses his legs to bolt himself

beside her

                                 -  he can do no better:

a straw hat served up like a Sunday dessert

shading a face gripped by a French pleat

pastel hues surfing from easy shoulders

she cannot breast his eyes

while they anchor her in bedrock 

Behind

across the lake, the daub of his life

shimmers

Perhaps, perhaps . . .

then a breeze from open water pricks

her lobes, informs on her matelot

     Les Bergers d’Arcadie

                     by Poussin

   Et in Arcadia ego

Someone lies in Paradise

in an ancient tomb

cool and rooted,

its dressed stones

condemns the innocence

of young shepherds.

Their mistress peels

the inscription from its

silence, assays it

against other wisdoms,

hears blood congeal

and saplings snap.

Who is found

out; what is discovered ?

The eternal present

of unsuspecting youth,

omega latent in flesh

cracks.

Death paints an idyll,

mixes colours of supple stir

on a palette of callow,

hatches snakes

in brittle boned minds

on this most mortal of days.

           Odalisque

                    by Ingres

                         DISPOSABLE

                         travel accessory

                         or in the home,

                        clean, hassle-free

                        clinically proven

                     and highly hygienic

                    Individually wrapped

                         for convenience

                            absorbent

                            stretchable

                             

                           STYLISH

                     bespoke in all sizes

                    warrantee unnecessary

                          user-friendly

                          easy access

                         on-off switch

 

    YOUR ANSWER

                 to uncompromising needs

                         audio or mute

                  withstands direct sunlight

                            practical,

                           memorable

                         and surprising

 

              NO

                    immediate intention

                 expectation or coercion

                      no walk of shame

                         no inflation

                         battery free  

                       limitless credit

                          definitely

                          no deposit

                              and

                          absolutely

                           nothing

                                to

                               pay

Autumn Cannibalism

                           by Dalí

Androgen and Oestrogen

are lovers; they interface

one with the other.

In the deserts and plains

each spreads a table

on a web, in a lair

scents, stalks, lures

scavenges, guttles

delimbs the other’s

sense of self,

consumes advantage

pares to par.

She slices him

within range

of a crêpe base

forks out his heart,

garnishes his ego

with her comeliness.

He spoons her flesh

kneads their funk

uplifts her with a crutch

picks from her plate

when the clouds spike

and she crispens.

Androgen and Oestrogen:

globs of protoplasm

serving up amoebae.

           CHILD'S PORTRAIT 1616

                            by Rubens

idea:

diamantine face

like a shell-burst

in my day

rose-cheeked

bud-pregnant, flip

clear of convention

cystral-eyed

tangential perspective,

headstrong

for an argument’s flat line,

a whipper-in of loose ends

wet from a meaty smile

in the full flush of creation

the cherub saviour of quandary

guides me through impasse