The Vision of Chancellor Rolin, by Colin Pink

The Virgin and Child with Chancellor Rolin, by Jan Van Eyck (Belgium) 1435

The Vision of Chancellor Rolin 
 
Chancellor Rolin is on his knees before his prie-dieu.
He sees a vision of the Virgin and Child before him.
His gimlet eye assesses them, as if about to negotiate
a deal; reach some accord; strike a bargain with heaven.
 
Rolin knows many secrets, who can be bought and how.
That brocade gown cannot disguise his calculating heart.
Beyond the window the river purls toward the horizon.
This land profits him more than the peasants who work it.
 
As Chief Adviser to the Duke of Burgundy he knows
all the ways to manipulate with bribes and threats 
in the court and market. His portrait is by the top
court artist; nothing but the best can purchase piety.

Colin Pink

Colin Pink’s poems have appeared in a wide range of literary magazines and often in the The Ekphrastic Review. He has published two poetry collections: Acrobats of Sound, 2016 from Poetry Salzburg Press and The Ventriloquist Dummy’s Lament, 2019 from Against the Grain Press and he has another pamphlet (Wreck of the Jeanne Gougy) and a full-length collection (Typicity) forthcoming in 2021.