The Spirit of Montmartre.

Montmartre, the Mecca for the Bohemian

world the fin de déclin de siècle

where once pious nuns did pray 

now throngs of local patrons seeking 

pleasure of sensuality sublime as they beg 

for something more:

Mon cher mon ame et corps tu me fait un grand plaisir

A virtuosity with color,
 both compassionate and voyeuristic

a most perplexing  young man was he,

though small in stature,
somewhat harsh, witty, 

a chronicle of the bawdy, 

lived a life among the sordid,

using only a paintbrush  he surpasses

the  language of the senses

and  immortalized the unknowns,

singers, poets, and can-can girls. 

Temptation of the soul whispering taunts,

with a skewed perspective,

illuminating the shadows with lurid colors

the young unknown artist paints 

the aching beauty of the naughty girl 

with low neckline and tossed up skirt,

with all the follies and sins despite,
shrouded in ambiguous, artificial light,
the chanticleer of Pan’s nightlife,
painting those souls in brothels, bars and cabarets.

Savoring his intoxication, drunkenly he inhales pain,

unable to speak Toulouse de Lautrec succumbs at age 36,

with one last glimpse of his life

left on the canvas of the spirit of Montmartre.

fin 

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (b Albi, Tarn, 24 Nov 1864; d Chateau de Malromé, nr Langon, Gironde, 9 Sept 1901) was a leading postimpressionist artist whose paintings, lithography, and posters contributed much to the development of Art Nouveau in the 1890s.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_de_Toulouse-Lautrec 

photo credits: Google  toulouse-lautrec-- The last painting shown here Toulouse Latrec painted his portrait in the scene -he is the one with the beard.

 join me with Emily who hosts imperfect prose here. and other poets.

copy of poem without photo's

Montmartre, the Mecca for the Bohemian world
the fin de déclin de siècle where once pious nuns did pray
now throngs of local patrons seeking pleasure
of sensuality sublime as they beg for something more:
Mon cher mon ame et corps tu me fait un grand plaisir
A virtuosity with color, both compassionate and voyeuristic
a most perplexing  young man was he
though small in stature, somewhat harsh, witty,
a chronicle of the bawdy, lived a life among the sordid,
using only a paintbrush
he surpasses the  language of the senses
and  immortalized the unknowns, singers, poets, and can-can girls.
Temptation of the soul whispering taunts,
with a skewed perspective,
illuminating the shadows with lurid colors
the young unknown artist paints
the aching beauty of the naughty girl
with low neckline and tossed up skirt,
with all the follies and sins despite,
shrouded in ambiguous, artificial light,
the chanticleer of Pan’s nightlife,
painting those in brothels, bars and cabarets.
Savoring his intoxication,
drunkenly inhales pain,
unable to speak
Toulouse de Lautrec succumbs at age 36,
with one last glimpse of his life
left on the canvas of the spirit of Montmartre.