Vanitas, by Maxine Linnell

Vanitas, by Luigi Miradori (Italy) c. 1656

Vanitas
​
after Luigi Miradori
Wellcome Trust 2013 exhibition, Death: a self-portrait.

A baby’s skin shines bright against black, front-lit. He’s naked, asleep, sprawled on his side.
His fair curls tuck behind an ear.
He’s dimpled and creased,
his cheeks are full and pink.
His navel dents his stomach. His hips rest on a red cushion, velvet, braided.
His upper arm tangles in white silk.
His elbow points out.
He almost hugs a darkened adult skull, eye sockets black.
His head lies on its crown.
His face kisses its forehead.
Without the skull
he would fall, wake, wail. ​

Maxine Linnell

This poem is from​ This Dust, published by Soundswrite Press.

Maxine Linnell is a poet, novelist, editor and creative writing teacher based in Rothley, UK. Vanitas was part of a series of poems about the sudden death of her son in 2010.