Gail Spaien, Serenade #10, 2017 (Artist Website)
Acrylic on Linen, 41 x 44”
If you break into my house,
I do not have a gun, merely this
rose-print tea set, size Child,
laid out on a glass table
so you may be served starry
shards of mockingbird advice
with Darjeeling. Mountains, so
many mountains, and a floor
of maps slashed into roads
scarred to silence. Do not fear
hallways painted with red X's,
entryway to a museum, each
artifact whittled by hunger. Silver
bell echoes, smoke stain where
a shot must have sounded. I should
have known I could not keep us
safe.
The snail shell is quite popular,
also the cigar box that resembles
an antique copy of Great
Expectations. Nestled inside,
a tiny ambulance.