Teaching the Apprentice

by michaelcahill

Per Mona Lisa con Amore Contest Winner

Ahh ... master, it is exquisite
the selection of colour
the realistic tone
the match-- near perfect
I can almost see the cheek bone
'neath the shy blush
oh ... I suppose it is finished now

No, no, not even begun
don’t you see?
realistic is not real
how simplistic you make
this all seem, my apprentice
take heed, dear boy
if cut, she must bleed
if hurt, she must cry
or, you see, boy,
she will die

can you not see the charge
that is mine?
if the name is to be remembered
a moment hence
she must live
right here on this canvas

but they sing your name
in the streets, Master,
and will, no doubt, long after ...

silence now, boy
there, you see, the flesh
it breathes, you see?
she sees you now,
the glint--

Yes!

I'm not so sure
she approves of you--
she's coy this one.

yes, yes, Master, I see
they will say your name now then, surely
long after ...
longer than my imagination
can fathom

my name?
are you that foolish, boy?
My name may be spoken
by a passerby
curious about an inscription
on a crumbling stone

the name I want whispered to life is ...