Titian Red

If one color were given to one man
his alone to use & perfect
then God gave red to Titian

The chesty waistcoat of François 1er
pleated with white accenting the red
the folds & wrinkles of the vigorous king
scarlet with a thousand nuances of light
like the fading of his feudal arms

Red just one color the painter would use
the other primaries combinations thereof
Red is the blood in the pudding
the taste that flutes above the horns

Gown of the Virgin next to the white of the rabbit
fleshy orange of the fat baby Jesus
Gown hiding the womb touched one time
its shimmer cardinal folds life-giving

Red first in the spectrum
we see it eyes closed toward the sun
color of our insides exposed to day

Titian's red dripped vivid hot
from the pricks of the crown of thorns
splashing dark on the cloak also red
sparkling blood of the martyr sorrowful paint

If the color were not given him
he found it or took it
used it sparingly ever so strong



Louvre Museum, Paris, France