Kabakovian Etude No.1 Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

such a person cannot perish really

forever he must find the exact right galoshes

for the lone corner of the room

where the sun almost comes in

where it has been painted, slightly maroon

and brush the cobwebs carefully

noting it down in a new album

in impeccable handwriting

today I took care of the cobwebs

holding the world together as if with sudden Luna moths

in my nearly broken hands

one could imagine this forever

an artist could come or an angel

on the same day and forge diamonds

out of the air down by the baseboards

where the smaller kingdoms are

or in one swathe of the picture

where it was blue green for a day

where the drabness was

interrupted by the candy wrapper fairy tale

that stayed.

mary angela douglas 31 may 2023