Produced by Dennis Camire
This week’s poem is by Sheila Wellehan of Cape Elizabeth. The poem first appeared in the Ekphrastic Review.
My Life with Matisse
By Sheila Wellehan
I drink Matisse first thing in the morning.
I breathe Matisse all day long.
I eat Matisse in the evening.
I dream Matisse midnight to dawn.
I require the red of beets, blood, and tomatoes,
The green of emeralds, limes, and pines,
Lemon yellow, fuchsia, and orange,
Every blue, from deep ocean to pale sky.
I crave anemone and amaryllis and goldfish.
I must have bathers and dancers and nudes,
Patterned upholstery, carpets, and wallpaper,
Lush flowers blooming inside and out.
When I gaze at Matisse, he frees me,
Even in faded art books or on a computer screen.
Matisse feeds me, he heals me, he leads me.
He teaches me to invent what I need.
Dennis Camire can be reached at dcamire@cmcc.edu
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