On not being a man who is Piero della Francesca

1.

Where we live among has not the mood of Arezzo
No girlfriend, these are not the church steps
And girlfriend, in this interior no painter on commission
Lent himself to the manufacture of a morning light;
So making it a 'perfect example' (Kenneth Clark, Civilization),
Girlfriend, where we live among is not that
Nor in governance, girlfriend, where we let the space and these
Are not the steps, and believe it, girlfriend,
Whatever else we hope for now it will not be grace -
Even though among us we have an idea
Distributed casually across particulars
Boys, for instance, drinking coffee along the sea wall -
But that is not a step, this is not a church, there is no interior,
Where we live girlfriend complicit moving equally among.


2.

Or not the mood, or notthe manufacture,
...