Moving Mona Lisa Downstairs by Jessica Whipple

Moving Mona Lisa Downstairs

When the museum staff told her she was
being reverse-curated, she forced a yawn.
They cited “improved visitor experience” and her eyes
rolled like onyx marbles let loose on a table.
Don’t mock me (smiling gently). We all know what people
come here to see (pleased with herself, as always).
Who was she, even? What did she want from them?
And how does a woman like this end up in the basement?
She stands, smooths her frock, and walks there herself.

*

Jessica Whipple writes for adults and children. She published two children’s picture books in 2023: Enough Is… (Tilbury House, illus. by Nicole Wong) and I Think I Think a Lot (Free Spirit Publishing, illust. by Joseée Bisaillon). Her poetry has been published recently in Funicular, Green Ink Poetry, Door Is a Jar, and Whale Road Review. Her poem “Broken Strings” was nominated for a 2023 Pushcart Prize. She lives in the US and inhabits the places where picture books and poetry intersect. You can find her on Twitter/X @JessicaWhippl17.