Cezanne

Cezanne

When someone stole Cezanne’s

painting of a boy in a red jacket,

I wondered which one.

Cezanne was too honest.

He wasn't above trying the same

thing twice.  So many mornings

he spent ten minutes looking

at Mont Sainte Victoire, reducing

it time after time to just three shapes

while the light was right.

Then he moved to another easel

set up the day before to try

a different point of view.

Did it matter to him that he

was founding a new form of art? 

Or did he just focus on what

he saw and paint, even though

what he did never would for him

nor for those who scoffed

look exactly right.

                    —Donnell Hunter

                           17 April 2012