Holman Hunt

Day21: write a poem in which you first recall someone you used to know closely but are no longer in touch with, then a job you used to have but no longer do, and then a piece of art that you saw once and that has stuck with you over time. Finally, close the poem with an unanswerable question.

Those three recollections could only lead to this poem. 


That time my work brought me to London,
And our first of many secret meetings,
You introduced me to the pre-Raphaelites
That fecund brotherhood of literature and art. 
You stood before the Awakening Conscience, 
Your neatly trimmed beard,  
Silk necktie and patterned waistcoat
A throwback to the century before
And told me, in a voice heavy with approval,
You discovered at his death, your father kept a mistress.
Would my life have been the poorer, or richer,
If I too, had turned away from your embrace, 
Taking the long journey west without
That Romantic flutter in my heart?

© Copyright 2022. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved.

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