When Rousseau Leaves His Studio He Sees Things Differently by Rosanne Ehrlich

---

When Rousseau Leaves His Studio He Sees Things Differently
by Rosanne Ehrlich

Lunch in a garden courtyard,
beneath a Paris balcony,
where a ginger cat stalks prey
in the passage of the mealy worm, or
a lion crawls behind the potted palms
where the Gypsy sleeps and Tigers glisten
beneath the citron sprays from his
lunch-time winter orange.

He takes a mid-day walk
along the city waters,
midway between the river with its mynah birds
and the canaries sold at wooden stalls.
He sees an old woman in a ripped sweater
the color of raw meat, meat the Hungry Lion eats
as the sun sets behind the jungle.

Later, the full moon lighting his balcony,
he stands above jungle flowers, grown as hyacinths,
their blue lights sounding the farthest poundings of
the Dreamer’s night-long, darkest dreams.

---

Hear Rosanne Ehrlich recite the poem on the Viewless Wings Poetry Podcast:

Submit your polished poetry for the opportunity of being published on ViewlessWings.com and being interviewed on The Viewless Wings Poetry Podcast.