Murder One, Fall 2015
On the Mannered Czars of Taste and Art
They’ll discuss
your fat circle and ideas
right in front of you.
They have no manners.
They’ll rename you
if they acknowledge
your presence at all:
Madonna of the Wasps,
Little Dot’s Retarded Sister.
They kiss cheeks
as if collecting DNA samples.
Their analysis, however, their clever
turns of phrase,
their rape fantasies
amid the long-necked daisies,
cannot be sustained.
Their ideas on pain
do not involve getting hurt.
The artist's space.
Crow Hollow 19
About the poem: “On the Mannered Czars of Taste and Art,” is a shot at the phonies in the art world who don’t really deserve to be the phonies in the art world. (Every other Thursday, I, myself, am a phony in the art world, but at least I cop to it.) It’s fairly easy to be dark and edgy. It’s fairly easy to be mean-spirited. It’s fairly easy to quote pop culture and follow trends. Hopefully, this poem does all of the above and then redeems itself with a couple of last lines that are both tough enough and tender enough.
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