Split a rental house in Hackensack
with two friends—fellow painters (Judy
and Stu? Suze and Elwood?) who
eventually marry. You’re the best man
or anyway, you’ll do in a pinch. Grab
the good studio, up in the A-frame.
Arrange globes, cleaned game, half bottles
of wine, and parrots in cages in would-be
still lifes. Have a skull handy? Call this
Philosophie, Ma Mère. Disdain
fashion. Dream of the distant, bearded
old masters. To join them you must be lucky
and dead. Make the most of your new
minimalist period. Yellow’s good
but let hot pink predominate. Further
Variations in Flesh Tones and Ochre
ought to do the trick. Remember one thing
is more boring than a nicely drawn sunset.