the Dutch Republic
has risen from the table
the plate the lemon
and the lobster
abandoned
a claw reflected
in a dish
canvas after canvas
of sumptuary
legislation
the Indies poured upon
the corporate board
so as to dine on
their poor sea
Belshazzar’s feast
was disturbed
by an angel writing -
these men and women
have got up
in good order
left their napkins
for us to see
in this repast
of mindfulness
the lenses the watches
the rot are exact
the grapes suspected
and disbelieved
the flesh punctual
the limit called
to pleasure
Ashmolean
Oxford
2 February 2018
The Dutch Still Life Room at the Ashmolean is one of the most neglected in the gallery. This must be because the British do not have a republic.
Belshazzar’s feast is the subject of Chapter 5 of the Book of Daniel, and of a painting by Rembrandt, though that is not to be found at the Ashmolean. I think some of the paintings show lobsters, and one other a crayfish, but as the latter are freshwater, I wanted to refer to the sea.