Now he burns blue, spits at the scythe and hood,
paints cruel age, the impotence —
phallic pipes, the artist’s severed hand,
fecund woman scorning the besotted old man.
Stained grey & splayed his fingers grip the brush,
jab at the muted palette — fanned lines
swift and uncluttered, duplicity
discarded as his final years wrestle
across the voids. Simplicity
strips statements to black and white —
the female other sprawled, her open sex
staring. She//he. Icon draws his fright,
brush-strokes the model. Life pared
to the passion of art. Body/bar/chair.