The Savior of World got sold
for a fortune and that took me back
to the basement on Kenmore Street:
playing UNO at the Catholic Worker house—
cigarettes, coffee, and donuts—
with a half a dozen other losers like me.
It’s a good painting, I like the hippie,
stoned look of him, the way he has
his right hand up as if he might flip us off
instead of offering that lukewarm
sign of peace, and the crystal orb
cupped in his left hand’s a nice touch,
hinting that all the riches of the world
are nothing but an illusion of glass.
Four hundred and fifty million bucks, Jesus
that’s a lot of money—Kardashian,
Raytheon, Gates, F-22 kind of money—
kind of money twelve million souls
dream of every Wednesday and Saturday
as five white, numbered balls roll,
followed by the red one—the Powerball
that bestows or withholds a life
of wealth. The Savior threatens, “Woe
to you who are rich, for you have
already received your comfort,” though
Jussi Pylkkänen declares, “the piece
is, [striking the gavel with spirit] sold!”
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Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Salvatore Mundi’ Sells for $450.3 M at Christie’s in New York, Shattering Market Records [Art News]
Matthew Murrey is a poet whose writings have appeared in various journals such as Tar River Poetry, Poetry East, and Rattle. He received an NEA Fellowship in Poetry a number of years ago, and his first book manuscript is seeking a publisher. He is a high school librarian in Urbana, Illinois where he lives with his partner. They have two sons who live in the Pacific Northwest.
Image by Leonardo da Vinci, entitled ‘Salvator Mundi’.
