by Lylanne Musselman
van Gogh’s painting
on loan from Paris,
Bedroom in Arles,
in Detroit, a place
so bankrupt, city
officials are looking in-
to assets the Detroit Institute
of Arts owns. Yes,
Michigan politicians
and many citizens
could prostitute
irreplaceable art. It exhibits
how some would
sell their souls, aid
the American idea
money
saves
at all costs. In Detroit,
citizens comment:
Sell
the DIA and open
a
money making business
like
a casino; Art is
just
a perception, it might
evoke
emotion for people
or
nothing; If Detroit goes
bankrupt
the museum collection
could
be seized…
I stood less
than a foot away
from the painting
van Gogh brushed
life into. The awe of it all,
knowing he painted this
bedroom scene to show
his brother, Theo,
how tranquil Arles was,
to see his perspective,
his ever-present blues.
Lylanne Musselman lives in Toledo, Ohio. Her poems have
appeared in Brevity Poetry Review, Literary Brushstrokes, The Rusty Nail, Pank, Tipton Poetry Journal, New Verse News, among others, and many
literary anthologies. Lylanne has authored three chapbooks: Prickly Beer & Purple Panties (Bacon
Tree Press, 2007), A Charm Bracelet for
Cruising (Winged City Press, 2009) and Winged
Graffiti (Finishing Line Press, 2011), and
is a co-author of the recently published book, Company of Women: New and Selected Poems (Chatter House Press,
2013).