The Marilyn Variations, by Lorette C. Luzajic

Marilyn Monroe: Metamorphosis, by David Wills, It Books, 2011.

The Marilyn Variations


this bitter earth
this milk and honey
come closer, take a sip


her hands, humble enough to learn
gefilte fish, chopped liver 
from Mrs. Miller, as Mrs. Miller


look, how she is 
covered in freckles
the kiss of the sun sprinkled under her eyes


the gleaming smile
genuine, at least as often as it wasn’t.
I know how pure joy sometimes exists beside darkness


her talismans-
her diamonds,
her pills.


where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
nowhere
I never left her side.


yards and yards
of crinoline
tiny, tired toes


the bluest water
Codachrome
the camera is home


Wikipedia:
James Dougherty was an American policeman
best known as the first husband of Marilyn Monroe


soft and sleek in red velvet
the vulnerable nipple
nothing so erotic as her books


apricot
parasols, Lucite heels
rhinestones, coral mouth.


Jello jiggle 
hello wiggle
how delicate the skin of her wrists


the daisy day:
how her photographer said,
it’ll end in tears


sweaty thighs
slippery stockings
the moon circle of white calf.


miles and miles of lines
under her eyes, watch, says her director
how rarely she ever needs to use words


Arthur, forever maligned
for not seeing her
for not saving her


so many blame him
but he mourns her
even from his grave


the transcripts we should never have known
the saddest irony- a woman who launched a thousand ships
never got there on her own.


director: The Misfits:
She had no technique. It was all the truth.
It was only Marilyn.


Marilyn, golden
silver, covered in sequins
the infinite jest


no makeup
just champagne
and the sea


Lorette C. Luzajic

This Marilyn Monroe sequence first appeared in Aspartame, Mixed Up Media Editions, 2016.

Lorette C. Luzajic is a mixed-media visual artist who often writes about art. Her poetry has been widely published, recently in Cultural Weekly, Black Coffee Review, and Heart of Flesh.  She is currently working on her fifth collection of poetry.