Garden of the Painter at Saint Clair, 1908, by Barbara Crooker

Garden of the Painter at Saint Clair, by Henri-Edmond Cross (France). 1908.

Garden of the Painter at Saint Clair, 1908

Under the cool blue slats 
of palm trees, a table 
and two empty chairs;
an invitation to come and sit
in this luminous paradise,
perhaps with morning coffee
as the sun squeezes lemon
light through the scaffolding,
Or perhaps with a glass 
of wine in late afternoon 
as grapey shadows
lengthen, stain the ground.
There are purple and yellow
iris in the foreground, colours
laid down in long strokes,
the way the foliage slices
the light.  We’re not there,
of course, but we could be,
even if it’s just the garden
of our dreams.  Here, paint
has stopped time in its blue
and gold tracks. And these
flowers keep unfolding.  

Barbara Crooker

This poem is from the author's book, Les Fauves, C&R Press, 2017.

Barbara Crooker is a poetry editor for Italian-Americana, and has published eight full collections and twelve chapbooks.  Her latest book is Les Fauves (C&R Press, 2017).  She has won a number of awards, including the WB Yeats Society of New York Award, the Thomas Merton Poetry of the Sacred Award, and three Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships.  A VCCA fellow, she has published widely in such journals as Nimrod, Poet Lore, Rattle, The Green Mountains Review, The Denver Quarterly, and The Beloit Poetry Journal. website:  www.barbaracrooker.com