Art Moderne Poem by Liilia Talts Morrison

You knew it all along, my friend
Ere Hellenes hewed their gods
Before the Mayan jaguars roared
You knew it would burst forth.

Just look at Adam's finger there
In fresco and cement
That is no muscle seen by man
No tame and sculptured cast.

You knew it all along, my friend
And worked it on the sly
So Braque, Picasso and the rest
Can kiss their pride goodbye.

In days of old Hieronymous
The creatures said it all
What Henry Moore and Klee thought new -
A tale told long ago.

So do not deem to rant or rave
Of moderns and the like
For skin and bones cannot contain
What art so palely fakes.