I’VE grown a goitre by dwelling in this den —
As cats from stagnant streams in Lombardy,
Or in what other land they hap to be —
Which drives the belly close beneath the chin:
My beard turns up to heaven; my nape falls in
Fixed on my spine: my breast-bone visibly
Grows like a harp: a rich embroidery
Bedews my face from brush-drips, thick and thin.
My loins into my paunch like levers grind:
My buttock like a crupper bears my weight;
My feet unguided wander to and fro;
In front my skin grows loose and long; behind,
By bending it becomes more taut and strait;
Crosswise I strain me like a Syrian bow:
Whence false and quaint, I know,
Must be the fruit of squinting brain and eye;
For ill can aim the gun that bends awry.
Come then, Giovanni, try
To succour my dead pictures and my fame;
Since foul I fare and painting is my shame.
(Michelangelo Buonarroti)
More Poetry from Michelangelo Buonarroti:
Michelangelo Buonarroti Poems based on Topics: Heaven, Drawing & Painting, Fame, Money & Wealth- V. to giovanni da pistoja. (Michelangelo Buonarroti Poems)
- Xlv. _love feeds the flame of age._ (Michelangelo Buonarroti Poems)
- Vi. _invective against the people of pistoja._ (Michelangelo Buonarroti Poems)
- Lxviii. to monsignor lodovico beccadelli. (Michelangelo Buonarroti Poems)
- Lxix. waiting for death. (Michelangelo Buonarroti Poems)
- Lvii. (Michelangelo Buonarroti Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Heaven Poems, Money & Wealth Poems, Fame Poems, Drawing & Painting PoemsBased on Keywords: bedews, levers, crosswise, unguided, squinting, lombardy, crupper, giovanni, buttock, breast-bone, goitre