Manet's Funeral

I am more taken back by Monet having to borrow money

for a mourning suit and a train ticket than the cause of Manet’s death

imagine Monet scrubbing paint off his hands thinking of the long journey

from Giverny to Paris

not the Monet we know in museums or from books but ordinary Monet

a pallbearer at his friend’s funeral   worried    about his neck collar

who happens to notice     how clouds float alongside lilies in a pond

would you have noticed how much we want out of this life

or cared that Manet died from complications of syphilis

Manet who painted a barmaid who stares at us

as if she knows our follies    what aperitif we drink to forget

her name    unknown