Leonardo Talks To His Muse (Poetry)

You said ‘Do try and paint me beautiful!’
Well, as you can see, I’ve done my best —
a fair job on the whole but not entirely a success,
yet almost pleasing to a tender eye...
I must confess, it’s turned out better than
I’d hoped when, unnerving at the start,
you sat with so much confidence
in what I could accomplish with my brush.

Patient and demure in your best dress,
you also wear an ambivalent smile.
I never asked you to but it turns out
to be the smartest thing that you could do —
your face is not the prettiest, your skin
a tad too sallow for the current trend
despite the lighting, flattering and soft,
plus muted colours — every trick thrown in

to lift the subject, lend a subtle charm
and mystery (if beauty can’t be found —
lips too thin, hair lank and boring brown.)
I’ve set you in a wild and rugged scene
to emphasize your round, unruffled calm.
And you seem pleased, dear lady, I can tell,
’though it isn’t Birth of Venus, I agree,
I have this hunch it might do rather well.