Ink melts wax

Presents  art as wick-sacrifice,

To tongues burning English (surrendering economic

advantages). First germ in sequence of distribution 

To the Products of Empire,

Picasso, benumbed from red wine, broke the chairs of peasants and styled the shards before Apollinaire’s derby-hat, insisted he describe the pieces in verse. 

But with nowhere to sit. He wrote on his toes.

Bohemian cache invited vulgar comments. Rich folks stood at the gate

And wondered why the ape, who was taught how to paint, only added to canvas

The bars of his prison. 

Their questions

Are art too.

When Mona Lisa went missing, Apollinaire and Picasso were questioned as to her whereabouts. She was discovered, invested in a bender, thrown out of Italy for Paris. 

Rich folk line up for miles to obliterate her color.