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This poem is taken from PN Review 201, Volume 38 Number 1, September - October 2011.

Monostichs Christopher Middleton
in memory of Hubert Stanley Middleton
musician
teacher of music
1890-1959



Monostichs 1

Enmeshed in misunderstandings who can carry the torch?
Rugged, cultivated too, some old French people.
Manet's mother's face is large with patience.
Manet's father was gruff, in pain, annoyed.
In Manet's portrait his parents' eyes are downcast.
On Papa's table, a scrap of tapestry, a snuffbox.
Manet crushed his parents into a confining space.
Paint without fear your parents for them to see.


Monostichs 2

This model sits for one painter only.
Once there is a bunch of violets in her bodice.
Again she takes hold of the red fan in her lap.
...


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