Painters' Palette
(Impressionists of Spring)
Degas' gauzy white prima donnas
dance cumulus pas de deux
like elegant immigrants across the sky,
while budlings peep as if Seurat
had daubed drops of citrine
Vernal Equinox on tips of trees.
Pussywillows by Pissarro hang
come hither in furry Cossacks' caps
on enchanting Russian hussies,
and lilies, those well-favored
Gypsies, sway, stamens, swollen,
in Gauguin breezes with just
a hint of Southern Seas.
Parrot tulips kick, lifting
can-can skirts to show off
red&white petticoats with attitude
like La Gauloise by Lautrec
at le Moulin Rouge.
Hyacinths brushed with a blue
Delft blush by Renoir waft
narcotic aroma over bright,
bearded blobs of Van Gogh
impasto-ed, yellow-faced
primroses under their feet.
Crocus and snowdrops,
like Morisot's toddlers
in pastel baby gowns, crowd
anemones, and lambs gambol
in daffodils weighed down
by dewy diamonds.
Forsythia by Sisley hang coronet
drops of sun to trumpet Spring
across grass almost phosphorescent
Cezanne green as wild violets
run riot over the lawn and the world
becomes Monet's Giverny garden.
