Day 530, Where Have All the Artists Gone?

 

Today the White House is devoid of art.

No poetry, new paintings on display.

Musicians are not asked to come and play.

Once Trump came in, we saw the arts depart.

Back in the Renaissance, the arts were part

Of every court, a truly rich buffet.

Through painting, sculpture, music and ballet,

The arts expressed the passions of the heart.

One “prince” of Florence loved humanities,

Known as, Lorenzo, Il Magnifico,   (the magnificent)

Who knew art could inform as well as please.

Art gave us Dante, Michelangelo.

But our new “prince” has ushered in a freeze,

For artists criticize, as we all know.

 

Cave paintings, humankind’s “prehistory,”

From Altamira, Pech Merle, and Lascaux,

In every early culture, long ago,

Art showed the human spirit bursting free.

As soon as we had language, poetry,

Perhaps recited in Lascaux’s art show,

And songs with flutes and drums in campfires’ glow,

Spread everywhere through human ancestry.

As human culture blossomed everywhere,

Art first was sponsored by aristocrats,

And in America, as we’re aware,

By both Republicans and Democrats.

But Trump’s White House has had no artists there.

Are artists threats to would-be autocrats?