Fragonard’s The Swing, by Dan MacIsaac

The Swing, by Jean-Honoré Fragonard (France) 1767

Fragonard’s The Swing 
 
This slip of a girl,
pushed by a priest,
shows froth of skirt
and meringue of thigh--
to the famished eye,
a lover’s feast.
 
How she rustles
through time in flight
so oblivious
in frivolous tulle
to the gathering gloom
from that dizzy height.
 
How could she foresee
the twisting rope,
the gleaming guillotine
and blood-soaked boot?
Flung off, her shoe
will never drop.

Dan MacIsaac

Dan MacIsaac, a trial lawyer, served for ten years as a director on the Environmental Law Centre board at the University of Victoria. In 2017, Brick Books published his collection of poetry, Cries from the Ark. His poetry, fiction and verse translations have been published in a wide variety of literary magazines, including Stand, The Malahat Review, Arc, and The American Journal of Poetry. His poetry has received awards including the Foley Prize from America Magazine. Dan MacIsaac’s work has been short-listed for the Walrus Poetry Prize and the CBC Short Story Prize. His website, which includes links to his poetry published in online journals, is www.danmacisaac.com.