Gallery

A gelded horse
A kilted knight
A statue in bronze:
Quite a sight!

A woman enraged
Her hair disheveled
A painter's effort,
That she looks insane

A child's silhouette
A picture of melancholy
A thousand words unspoken
A chiliad of memories

A group of schoolkids
Stop by a coy bride
In bright red and gold:
An ancient tempera

Their giggles and chatter:
A buzz in the gallery:
An onomatopoeia!
A sense of disorder

A guide rushes soon
Quietens the lot
Chaperones them to
Another corridor

I follow them quietly,
My eyes glance upwards:
A mesmerizing fresco:
Maybe Michaelangelo's

It seems so unreal
My eyelids flicker
I pinch myself:
The hurt's real

A gallery of histories,
Of famous artists,
Of many worlds,
Ancients and antiques

I watch the schoolkids
Draw from the paintings
Scribbled sketches on paper
Moments etched in memory.