On Paul Cezanne' Women Bathers Poem by RIC BASTASA

there is no other story to tell
about women bathing nude but
nothing is exposed like a real strangled pubic hair
or the splitting of a woman's flesh to see
whether there is blood in their arms
and wrists.
the river freezes. there is no motion for fluidity.
the women are stuffed like dolls of cotton and rags
sewn and brought together to form
the faces of humanity.
i know now.During Paul's time it is a sin to tell a lie.
It is also a graver sin to tell and expose
the truth.And so these women did not have nipples.
What is inside them is just this thick paint
of paul, always trying to conceal what is important.
i feel so sick about it.
But it is still so beautiful as i now, tell you about it.