Sustained by strong black coffee,
He sits there immobile
On a rickety chair on a rickety platform,
Under the warning, watchful eye
Of Paul Cezanne who found an apple
Easier to paint than a moving sitter
Who suppresses a yawn and grips a book,
Left hand on thigh, eyes lowered,
Face in half shadow, in a brown study,
Papillon tight on blue shirt collar,
Thinking I must not move then wandering
Off to a future when a place he might find
On a prestigious wall in a famous gallery
If I do not rouse the sudden anger
Of this irascible exigent master.
©Terry Hodgson2020
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