Fine Arts

by Gayane M. Haroutyunyan

1. Modigliani in the Moonlight

Before Modigliani painted portraits

of dames and men

in his rusty old shack,

he used to visit a French brothel

ten blocks down

from his house.

He was after women and

hash, mostly not women

because they made him weep and fly

and then ache like a chopped willow.

By the time he was half way there

the sizable bottle of wine in his hand

was empty and he was not sure

where he was headed

or who he was.

The only thing he knew

was the shape of the object

in his hand

a blueprint of his life

and it was moist

and heavy.

 

2.How Van Gogh lost his ear

I remember

it was Monday.

A cold, unfriendly Monday morning

at my sister’s house

after a drunk night

followed by writing,

none of which I can really claim.

Under my bed,

instead of my hair clip

I found Van Gogh’s ear

with a bouquet of sunflowers in it.

Clearly, I decided, I must keep the flowers

and toss the ear.

 

3.Dilemma Da Vinci

Leo woke up in a small Brooklyn apartment

on October 4, 2014, at about 2 a.m.

and recognized nothing around him

but a dusty bible on the shelf

and a piece of sky

peeking from a white window behind him.

Strange smells, frozen faces walking the streets

odd colors dressing the landscape

stations of “gas”, tiny houses of Kings

giant mildewed statue in the distance

holding a dead torch

spelled out The Future quietly to a genius.

Scarlett Johansson was Hollywood-smiling

from a Cosmo page on the floor

as he looked on…

I will call her Mona Lisa, he murmured,

and started to paint.


About the Author

Gayane M. Haroutyunyan is an Armenian-American poet who lives in Los Angeles. She has a masters degree in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College. Her work has been featured in Chaparrel, Zetetic, and Apple Valley Review online journals as well as others.

 

A collection of brushes and paint, colors favored by van Gogh according to the photographer David Clode.