Still Life

An isolated glass has its own purpose
in the geometric frame of a
Bold young man's craft. Pointing
Out the lower left corner within the
Rhythm of the Cubist display a
Note in (the universal tongue) which reads
Tomlin, no doubt the seal of
The artist. I see a figure molded
Into the shape of a type of
Skull, while to his right a carnation
All lily white and like a pearl.
As his one eye sees nothing, not
Even the oddly stained floor --
I wonder if he thinks...
If he knows that there is a
Glass painted deep brown and
White and grey: while breaking
From a wire that dances through
A blue flame. Skying into
An olive green nowhere... A spotted
Corner having another purpose.
This is an odd place similar
In ways to this old apartment;
Warm in the effervescence
Of an always aesthetic craft. Isn't
It Shakespeare who remarks in concern
To the workmanship of a man and what
That man has accomplished in his
Work that like this art, in its
Mirror, or mind, in 1939?