MANET'S DAY
JAN 23 BIRTH

Whether Manet perceives
extraordinary pitiable souls
on the streets of Paris
he still has time
to rush out
and buy new brushes
and meet his wife
by the Tuileries garden
as he paints life's discoveries
by exposing literary genius
in a portrait of Proust's
exemplary greatness
from his Swann or Guermantes way
in a sacred poetic face
by a lunary day
for us watching on his city stay,
or catching naked poses of Olympia
too embarrassed for the gallery
not to pardon a legendary mantra
of a luminary nature's parley
at adorning figures on the floor
by blushing gritty roses
and tulips in a glass vase
or at a museum showing
of Tama, the Japanese dog
slips on all fours
we suddenly remember
these portraits on Manet Lane
in Simi Valley, California
Boston or in New York City
no matter what rotten critics
say in the press to harass you,
they are soon forgotten
in our vicinity.