LEFTOVERS

Half-baked or embarrassed lobster
and an overdose of fruit, a work
of art that shows inanimate objects
from the natural or man-made world.

A small white dog sniffs the air,
cannot see the platter of meat and
does not want the wine. It all means
something or meant something once:

symbols, signs, declarations of love,
perhaps a sermon about gluttony.
It just makes me feel hungry and
out of my art history depth.

Existence becomes recorded time,
provokes introspection and reflection;
grim reminders of life's brevity
and a subtle warning: now-useless

worldly possessions are painstakingly
rendered to be as realistic and impressive
as possible, imbued with a life beyond
the ordinary whilst we must age and die.