Le Comte St Genois: Christian Schad by Wendy T. Carlisle

Portrait du Comte St. Genois d'Anneaucourt by Christian Schad, 1927

Le Comte St Genois: Christian Schad

Le Comte can fool us, French Lieutenant in a tux,
his sleek hair, blinding pocket square, his ladies’
lethal kohl-eyed stares, their bodies visible
through gauzy peau de soie, pink leaves, are sexy,
rose et vert.  They have, this group, three noses
from which to look down on us.
Behind them, Paris, Berlin, any New Objective city,
lurks and looms.  They stand apart and glow.
Are they translucent, shining, meant
to gather an admiring view, or are they vacant
and transparent, prisoners of their hauteur and ennui.

by Wendy T. Carlisle

Wendy Taylor Carlisle lives in the Arkansas Ozarks. She is the author of two books, Reading Berryman to the Dog and Discount Fireworks (both Jacaranda Books). Her most recent chapbook is Persephone on the Metro, (MadHat Press, 2014.) For more information, check her website at www.wendytaylorcarlisle.com.