By Mark Ellis
stylishly tailored
in knit suit
ala Coco Chanel she strolled
slightly stooped
the diminutive giant of the left
bank
hair pulled back
tightly
mouthing the slightest
grimacing smile
now moving slowly with escort and private guide
past aging splendors
of impressionism
and French culture
sitting to behold
Manet’s Le déjeuner sur l’herbe
a scandal in its time
yet now tame
with respect
to pornified American culture
safely ensconced
in court rulings and lack of executive fervor
le champion
of women’s reproductive rights
first among her peers at Harvard and Columbia
finding
the European
way
forward
in dark symphonic Wagnerian harmonies
to unite men’s darkened souls
