In Time & Art
by Howard Kaplan
This all happened between time & art,
in a painting, she viewed of a dancer
wearing a fruit basket hat of purple plums &
yellow bananas, while twirling
a long fashionable beaded dress.
He was performing a rain dance
to cover the dry land in warm water,
a colorful stained-glass sun overhead.
Among the glazed-eyed watchers,
guests crowded green velvet tables
adorned with gold filigree & treasures
of sculptured busts & ivory bosoms.
Food of plenty overflowed as
if spilling out of the ornate frame.
She admired the many shapes of pasta &
the diamond-patterned on the seared steak.
She was seduced by the large white pearls
worn by a red bird that perched on the shiny
grand piano while singing along with
the man's gliding fingers in harmony.
Watching the pianist's foot bouncing
between the sostenuto & damper pedals,
she wished to be the bird, &
contribute seeds for the orange soil.
She felt that she could be among it all &
call herself art.
Howard Kaplan is a poet and visual artist. Recently, his work has appeared in the online magazines SWAMP and Mad in America. He received a BFA from Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota Florida, and an M.Ed., and Ph.D. from the University of South Florida, in Tampa, where he currently teaches. When he is not reading romance novels while listening to heavy metal, he can be found relaxing with his mini schnauzer Princess Leia, his wife Andrea, and daughters Hyla & Kinsey.