the later pretenders

Picasso who

penis in or out of his pants

paints and pigments on his tongue

hunger on his fingers

Spanish fire ball eyes

drinking to himself and a self-portrait

hanging inside a beachside cabana

bouncing balls, flying kites, smoking sideways

his wife with her dark Russian accent

but light blonde hairs on his studio chair

French smiles for the small spry guy

in galleries famous or unknown

a cheap room in Montmartre

glasses of inexpensive red wine

bohemian buddies, empty bottles

puffs of passion

poets, photographers and players of

parlor games

costume parties with the bourgeoisie

clowns and jugglers

cubes and cubists

metaphorical flowers and les Demoiselles d'Avignon

hanging on an expansive wall

playing with knives on a cafe table in central Paris

surreal "J'suis!"

in a castle near X

with bullfights and bombast and brilliance,

paving the way for the later Pretenders.