For the dverse prompt https://dversepoets.com/2023/05/23/an-artist-gets-his-due/
Inspired by Thorvald Hellesen’s 1914 portrait of Elvind Eckbo.
From the moral high ground
The military man, a structure of medals, sashes,
stiff bebraided collar, booted and belted,
poses, sword in hand for a looming war.
His gaze, fixed on the middle distance,
peers through canon smoke; he listens
to the screams of men and horses.
Look harder and he vacillates,
moral contradictions rocking the edifice
held together by gold and ribbons.
Look, how the middle distance,
the bloody, screaming smoke,
becomes unbearable,
and the unflinching war machine,
white-gloved, stiff upper-lipped,
turns his head, in pity or in shame.
For the dverse prompt https://dversepoets.com/2023/05/23/an-artist-gets-his-due/Inspired by Thorvald Hellesen’s 1914 portrait of Elvind Eckbo. From the moral high ground The military man, a structure of medals, sashes,stiff bebraided collar, booted and belted,poses, sword in hand for a looming war. His gaze, fixed on the middle distance,peers through canon smoke; he listensto the screams of men and … Continue reading From the moral high groundRead MoreJane Dougherty Writes
