A Mastercraft of Black

2682 A Mastercraft of Black
exhibition, sculpture of Ronald Gonzalez

"I wasted time, and now doth time waste me,"
Richard the Second said. Not so does he
Who these black statues crafted! Clock of sun
Moving may ill dispute a mastery

Though it can crush, erode it. So has done
Time with our fancied grand. But malison
Thus great and unabating may be fought:
Anticipate the race that will be run!

Ronald can scavenge, salvage, yet his thought,
Savage, competes in ravage. He has brought
A black that deadens, rusting that corrodes,
To prophesy our last, appointed lot.
. . . . .
What is the "Well"? A black spittoon is set
(Got from a dental office), slug-filled. Let
The glum beholder feel the emptiness
The crumpled humpback purse will help beget.
. . . . .
It knows a crafty coper who the lack
And sadness of decay reshapes. The black
Of solemn pall and falling night will rhyme
With avid answer to its ravin-rack.

The tragicomedy not all sublime
Of dulling, rusting, cracking, crumbling, grime
Is Homo Faber as a Maker-Mime.
Time may waste me, I have not wasted time.

     --copyright 2011 by Martin Bidney