STRAPHANGING


Yikes! Von Eycks's
The Arnolfini Marriage
gets on the tube.



Circle Line....either it or
someone very like Vladimir Putin
and Vladimir Putin in drag


at the next stop
Grant's American Gothic
jumps through the door



just as it closes
they straphang
looking every inch of themselves



paint dripping from a graze
above an eyebrow
it's very unnerving



sharing a carriage
with great works of art
come alive



I really want to see
who gets on next
Van Gogh without an ear



but this is my stop
and work beckons
I get off but



nobody gets on
not even
a quick sketch



I mind
"...the Gap!"
almost trip over myself



the Arnolfini Marriage
and American Gothic
are discussing do they need



a ticket and what is money
they stare at me as if
"We know where you live sunny Jim!"



"Don't you dare tell!"
they yell
silently



the Putin look-alive
draws a finger
across a throat



the American Gothic
draws a zipper across a mouth
I give a frightened nod



the doors close
and somewhere
in a gallery



their empty frames
stare at
the dumbfounded tourists