A specimen of the Mannerist vogue
For complicated landscapes in the background
Smeared with much aerial perspective

To the right of the sitter’s golden curls
One can barely make out
A structure or growth jutting into the low cloud

To her left is a ruined tree half gutted
So it isn’t that picturesque reflex
A catapult maybe

What is this thing what is this picture
Does it offer a secret inkling
Of warfare or some other slaughter of the innocents

And in the most distant background
Most smeary most illegible
What is that pall of smoke extending to the frame