I lie here languid as a lily of the field
in the reverie of an artist’s model
I may look demure
what with my rosary between my hands
as requested by his nibs
but he also tipped my negligée strap
from my right shoulder
baring the nip
“The perfect mix of
seductive and saintly”
according to him
I am really just here for the money
and if there are extras
once he has had enough of painting
I get a little more…
I know I’m his favourite model
‘cos he always asks for me and gets cross
so they tell me
if I’m otherwise engaged
of course, he’s married
which is a relief really
I hate it when they get all enamoured
and desperate and I
have to explain
– it’s the single life for me, ducks…
The only thing’s strange
about modelling for
artists, is how they stare at you
so intensely – and yet it’s like they’re
not really seeing you…
© Andrew Wilson, 2026
Over at dVerse Poets Pub, Melissa Lemay in Poetics, invites us to a haunting selection of ekphrastic prompts, with a stipulation of 31 lines or less as the only limitation…
Juan Luna was a famous Filipino painter, who shot and killed his wife and mother-in-law and severely injured his brother-in-law. He was later acquitted as the crimes were considered to be “a crime of passion.”
While many believed the painting to depict his late wife, Paz, art historians assert that the physical features are that of Angela Duche, who was a favorite model of Luna’s.
According to legend, owners of the painting suffered misfortunes such as illness, bankruptcy, car crashes, and other tragedies. It is believed that at a showing of the artwork in the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in 1987, a spotlight bulb directly over the painting mysteriously exploded. The painting is currently housed at the National Museum of the Philippines.