The Sistine Madonna Poem by Mukesh Williams

Rise above worldly fame into an ecstatic piety
That both the religious and secular can trust,
Be honest like Raphael and represent
The sensual nobility of a comely virgin
Holding her firstborn in an idyllic poise.

Together with the saintly Sixtus and Barbara,
The winged genii and the Sistine Madonna,
You may watch aghast the pious folks
Beyond the balustrade and
Commiserate with them in Dostoyevskian profundity.

But once you have paid tribute to religious authority
You can provide a valiant vision of the world
By painting the child in her hands
With the eyes of a man dismantling miracles
Even while floating on imaginary clouds.

Published in Best Poem: A Poetry Journal, February 15,2009