Smithereens Press Chapbooks Left Behind by Colm Scully | Page 12

The Old King
after ‘The Old King’ by Picasso

He hangs in the Crawford.
fifty years to the day,
back turned to Emmet place
and the hip marble fronts of Opera Lane.
His apple browns and dull reds
fading always
since that first stroke in Antibe.
His pale lips and frilly collar,
baubled hat and rosy eyes.
A grisly old fool on a throne.
His silly smile
masking a rotten core.

6