On My Terms, by Barbara Lydecker Crane

Portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne, by Amedeo Modigliani (Italy) 1919

On My Terms
         
I rarely make a sale, but still I strike
my mark in artists’ circles. Everyone knows   
I drink and smoke hashish. Sometimes I like
stripping off my clothes at parties. I chose
to leave behind my bourgeois youth; the route
to real art is disorder and defiance.
Although I am unwell and destitute,
I seek no help and I reject alliance
with any group or style. Still, I’m tied
to sweet and gentle Jeanne; she’s expecting
soon, and we’re engaged. She’s terrified
TB is claiming me. But self-protecting’s
not my game. Intense brevity
means far more than dull longevity.

Barbara Lydecker Crane

This poem is from the author's upcoming collection, You Will Remember Me, Able Muse Press.

Barbara Lydecker Crane, twice a Rattle Poetry Prize finalist, has received several awards for her sonnets. Her poems have appeared in The Ekphrastic Review, First Things, Light, Measure, THINK, among others.  Her fourth collection, You Will Remember Me, sonnets about artists and portrait paintings, will be published by Able Muse Press.

More at The Ekphrastic Review by Barbara Lydecker Crane

The Blue Hour
House of Cards
​Reflection (nominated for the Pushcart Prize)