Imaginary Paintings

--Lisel Mueller

1. HOW I WOULD PAINT THE FUTURE

A strip of horizon and a figure,

seen from the back, forever approaching.

2. HOW I WOULD PAINT HAPPINESS

Something sudden, a windfall,

a meteor shower. No -

a flowering tree releasing

all its blossoms at once,

and the one standing beneath it

unexpectedly robed in bloom,

transformed into a stranger

too beautiful to touch.

3. HOW I WOULD PAINT DEATH

White on white or black on black.

No ground, no figure. An immense canvas,

which I will never finish.

4. HOW I WOULD PAINT LOVE

I would not paint love.

5. HOW I WOULD PAINT THE LEAP OF FAITH

A black cat jumping up three feet

to reach a three-inch shelf.

6. HOW I WOULD PAINT THE BIG LIE

Smooth, and deceptively small

so that it can be swallowed

like something we take for a cold.

An elongated capsule,

an elegant cylinder,

sweet and glossy,

that pleases the tongue

and goes down easy,

never mind

the poison inside.

7. HOW I WOULD PAINT NOSTALGIA

An old-fashioned painting, a genre piece.

People in bright and dark clothing.

A radiant bride in white

standing above a waterfall,

watching the water rush

away, away, away.