God!!!!!!
sloped shoulders, and the flat stomachs
of 1966
let’s play hopscotch, let the eyes, exuberantly double dutch and scream. we’ve seen the end, the pinnacle of physical fluency
we won
The Mondrian Collection by Yves Saint Laurent
Timothy Tarkelly
What is the significance of this work to you?
The Netherlands has long been a center of innovation in the arts. From the Renaissance to modern day, their painters, sculptors, philosophers, architects, and other creators have influenced the Western world in a million ways. Yves Saint Laurent demonstrates this in his Mondrian collections. This poem is from a work-in-progress: a collection of poems about and inspired by Dutch art throughout history.
What is the significance of the form you chose for this work?
The form of this work reflects the informal, yet brazen tone of the Mondrian collection and Saint Laurent’s work in general.
What was your process for creating this work?
The composition of this poem, and most of the poetry in this work, was rather loose-limbed. I let my thoughts guide the direction as freely as possible.
Timothy Tarkelly's work has appeared in The Daily Drunk, Back Patio Press, Tiny Essays, and others. He has two full-length collections published by Spartan Press: Luckhound (2020) and Gently in Manner, Strongly in Deed: Poems on Eisenhower (2019). When he's not writing, he teaches in Southeast Kansas.