My Human Disguise.
An anarchist portrayed as a magician
(True, the two have a good deal in common),
Feneon coined “neo-impressionism”
While being shadowed by the gendarmerie.
He was arrested twice on suspicion
Of bombings and an assassination,
Both times acquitted, reluctantly set free
To continue as a leading art critic.
Today we have no such chameleons.
Art is dying the death of the cynic
In a time of humorless deceptions.
The critic’s job has been stolen by sick,
Mad scribblers who only take exception.
Nothing is safe in a land of dim magic.