We came upon the doorway quite by chance
— Though I’d glimpsed before a picture in a book
That showed a similar domestic scene. A glance
Was enough to confirm the house was worth a look.
We entered: across the bare courtyard and up
The smooth-worn stones to the museum. Now, of course,
It was completely different: the chairs, the rug, that cup,
They must have been fakes. Or rather their original source
Was another room. Did that diminish their truth?
This was his home; he stood by that window, saw
Profoundly what we only peered at (alien, uncouth).
But I think he’d have understood our visit. More:
Approved. He too liked to imagine the view
As it never was, from places he never knew.
— Though I’d glimpsed before a picture in a book
That showed a similar domestic scene. A glance
Was enough to confirm the house was worth a look.
We entered: across the bare courtyard and up
The smooth-worn stones to the museum. Now, of course,
It was completely different: the chairs, the rug, that cup,
They must have been fakes. Or rather their original source
Was another room. Did that diminish their truth?
This was his home; he stood by that window, saw
Profoundly what we only peered at (alien, uncouth).
But I think he’d have understood our visit. More:
Approved. He too liked to imagine the view
As it never was, from places he never knew.
(1992)
