The Poet in the Studio of Jan Breughel the Elder 1568-1625

28 THEMINNESOTA REVIEW PAUL SOLYN THE POET IN THE STUDIO OF JAN BREUGHEL THE ELDER 1568-1625 1 Or possibly Jan Breughel the Younger 1606-1678. Anyhow, somewhere in Flanders. The architecture's classic: arches everywhere, an arcade, terraces, the open air. Not many painters, and they've been hitting the bottle. Not even an easel. One painting in progress, the work of a committee: this Allegory of Taste. 2 Hang the birds by their feet from the rafters, let the wings of the geese fall open in the breeze. Bring in a calf, an ox, a deer. Bring in rows on the floor. This is the gift of Mrs. Albert J. Beveridge. Catalogue it under 38.8. If there's not enough room push the furniture back against the walls. 3 In the kitchen they have made noodles for days on end. They overflow into the studio and still the cook makes noodles. In the damp Flemish air the smell of noodles is everywhere. Jan Breughel the Elder is apologetic. He shows the poet his finest painting: Still Life With Noodles. ETTER 29 He will never show it in public. He swears the poet to secrecy. DAVE ETTER DOING NOTHING AT TWO IN THE MORNING A moth bounces around the bare light bulb. Nothing to farm, no fun, no road to fame. Where is that blind girl I knew in Athens? Blue flowers decay in this room of books. My fire-fevered pipe has grown a fat face. Is that you calling me to bed again? ...