Manet’s Funeral, by JoAnna Scandiffio

The Bar at Folies-Bergere, by Edouard Manet (France) 1882

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Manet’s Funeral

I am more taken back by Monet having to borrow money 

for a mourning suit and a train ticket than the cause of Manet’s death 
                       
imagine Monet scrubbing paint off his hands thinking of the long journey

from Giverny to Paris

not the Monet we know in museums or from books but ordinary Monet 

a pallbearer at his friend’s funeral    worried    about his neck collar

who happens to notice    how clouds float alongside lilies in a pond

would you have noticed how much we want out of this life

or cared that Manet died from complications of syphilis 

Manet who painted a barmaid who stares at us

as if she knows our follies     what aperitif we drink to forget   

her name    unknown ​
 
 JoAnna Scandiffio

JoAnna Scandiffio is a gemologist living in San Francisco. Her poems are like bird nests, made with fragments randomly connected to hold the moment. She is like the old medieval monks who copied out verses in coloured inks so the world could sing forever. Her work has appeared in Calyx, The MacGuffin, The Poeming Pigeon, Poets 11, and SugarWater.