Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CASTILIAN, by ELINOR WYLIE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CASTILIAN, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Velasquez took a pliant knife
Last Line: Miraculously shaped.
Alternate Author Name(s): Benet, William Rose, Mrs.
Subject(s): Velazquez, Diego (1599-1660)


Velasquez took a pliant knife
And scraped his palette clean;
He said, "I lead a dog's own life
Painting a king and queen."

He cleaned his palette with oily rags
And oakum from Seville wharves;
"I am sick of painting painted hags
And bad ambiguous dwarfs.

The sky is silver, the clouds are pearl,
Their locks are looped with rain.
I will not paint Maria's girl
For all the money in Spain."

He washed his face in water cold,
His hands in turpentine;
He squeezed out colour like coins of gold
And colour like drops of wine.

Each colour lay like a little pool
On the polished cedar wood;
Clear and pale and ivory-cool
Or dark as solitude.

He burnt the rags in the fireplace
And leaned from the window high;
He said, "I like that gentleman's face
Who wears his cap awry."

This is the gentleman, there he stands,
Castilian, sombre-caped,
With arrogant eyes, and narrow hands
Miraculously shaped.





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