11 Comments
User's avatar
Beverly Harris's avatar

I very much admire the thoughtful art of this sonnet.

Paul Drexler's avatar

Brilliant. The poem, the portrait and the tyrant all come alive.

George Rafael's avatar

Far superior to I'm Henry VIII, I Am.

Tyndall Brandon's avatar

Wonderful! "To satirize / a man is merely to depict him as he is" is both accurate and well-phrased.

Phil H's avatar
4dEdited

Aaah! Content warning for savagery, please. That 11th line has physically injured me.

"Poet takes aim at historical figure, stray fragments DESTROY all men"

Also - typo note. I think the caption under the picture is missing a V

Ken Gordon's avatar

V inserted. Thanks!

Matilda L's avatar

Love Holbein’s work, love this poem.

Matilda L's avatar

Love Holbein’s work, love this poem.

John Timpane's avatar

I cannot love this enough. Keenly attuned to history, to art (ekphrasis!), to life as lived. Vibrant.

Ken Gordon's avatar

"I call / That piece a wonder, now."