Michelangelo on
High
by George A. Renn
Michelangelo
toiled four years
To finish the Sistine ceiling,
Traveled up sixty-six feet–one way—
Sometime more than twice per day,
Because on skyward travels he might
forget
Clean detail brushes,
The required pigments to mix,
Right scrapers, needed rags,
A day’s filling lunch with
appropriate wine,
So spent hours up and down swaying
ladders,
Dealing with vertigo and backache,
Sore feet on loose rungs,
Unsteady balance plus stale air,
Distracting flies and curious birds.
If when high up he pictured a tableau,
It needed resizing for those below.
As he hummed and mumbled
Paint slid down the curved surfaces,
Splatters daubed his eyes and cheeks,
Providing time to devise and improve
Ideas and hues for future scenes. |
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