Produced by Dennis Camire

This week’s poem is by Sheila Wellehan of Cape Elizabeth. The poem first appeared in the Ekphrastic Review.

 

My Life with Matisse

By Sheila Wellehan

 

I drink Matisse first thing in the morning.

I breathe Matisse all day long.

I eat Matisse in the evening.

I dream Matisse midnight to dawn.

 

I require the red of beets, blood, and tomatoes,

The green of emeralds, limes, and pines,

Lemon yellow, fuchsia, and orange,

Every blue, from deep ocean to pale sky.

 

I crave anemone and amaryllis and goldfish.

I must have bathers and dancers and nudes,

Patterned upholstery, carpets, and wallpaper,

Lush flowers blooming inside and out.

 

When I gaze at Matisse, he frees me,

Even in faded art books or on a computer screen.

Matisse feeds me, he heals me, he leads me.

He teaches me to invent what I need.

 

Dennis Camire can be reached at dcamire@cmcc.edu