poppies

Poppies

The scarlet poppies, on the verge,
where the lane bends,
were painted by Van Gogh,
who had carelessly left the canvas
behind and gone with Gauguin to madam,
Houseman’s bordello;
were picked by a lady, she though them,
pretty; meant well, but, broke
the special bond between light and soil.
She looked sad, but stopped off at a country fair,
bought poppies made of silk in China.
When Van Gogh came back to catch
the afternoon light on the canvas, it wasn’t there,
and deeply distressed cut his ear off