And then and then and then and then and then (Red) by Neil Ellman

And then and then and then and then and then (Red)
(after the lithograph by Takashi Murakami, 1999)

and soon and soon and soon and soon and soon

again what then so soon so very very soon

and then and then and then too soon

your empty-headed smile, a child’s balloon

about to burst and then and then again

that smile that smile that toothy smile

prattling when and then the soon will come—

Hey, Mr. DOB, what will you think of innocence

then?


Author bits:

Twice nominated for Best of the Net, Neil Ellman lives and writes in New Jersey.  Hundreds of his poems, many of which are ekphrastic and based on works of modern and contemporary art, appear in print and online journals throughout the world.