A Lovely Evening for a Dance
After Cypresses by Vincent van Gogh
The Cypresses stand in line,
greenery fluffed, spines straight,
wait for soft clouds to envelope.
The pinks and blues swirl
towards them. The grass below
sways to the wind’s whispers.
No one left without a partner,
the dance floor full of grace
and gratitude.
*
Watching Over It
After Mount Sainte-Victoire by Paul Cezanne
The snow-capped mountain transforms
into the lined face of an old man,
right eye hides in shadow,
left eye watches the land, trees,
and house tucked into greenery,
trapped as if a child not allowed
to leave. A serpent head spews
from the old man’s mouth,
a guard to keep the house in place.
The old man’s arm tattooed
with the colors of disobedience,
blue for submersion, pink
for blood diluted but not gone.
*
Robin Wright lives in Southern Indiana. Her work has appeared in As it Ought to Be, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, ONE ART, Loch Raven Review, Panoply, Rat’s Ass Review, The Beatnik Cowboy, Spank the Carp, The New Verse News, and others. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee and a Best New Poets 2024 nominee. Her first chapbook, Ready or Not, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2020.
