Constantinus Fidelio Coene, Southern Netherlandish-Belgian
“Relax, Gentlemen! I’m Sure This Is All Covered Under Your Cart Insurance Policies,” 1823
Oil on panel
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Info and links that point to more info about this artist can be found at his Wikipedia page (Google translated Dutch Wikipedia page has more).
/// A white line, stretched tight spanning the street,
marks the spot where two hurtling carts meet.
The two cart drivers fight,
both ignoring the plight
of the poor injured girl at their feet.
/// Milk and veggies spill on cobblestones,
near a white horse with three broken bones.
A dog eats what it can
while each woman and man
later grabbed all the rest and then ran.
/// This huge violent street demonstration
didn’t start with the carts’ devastation.
The thin wire stretched so tight
at exactly that height
had (at high-speed) caused decapitation.
/// The poor victim would never have bled
his life out in a scene of such dread
had he thought first to check out,
(and had not stuck his neck out),
that sharp wire whereby he lost his head.
/// What’s the reason that wire’s there at all?
Causing death, crashing carts, and a brawl.
There was no hanging laundry
so we’re left in a quandary,
with no “perp” we can see “take the fall.”
/// Could it be some great Belgian inventor,
with a blacksmith, who had been her mentor,
strung that line across there
at an angle off-square
for a quick zip-line exit (or enter)?
/// One driver drinks schnapps as a bracer.
When drunk, he believes he’s a racer.
Driver two carried beer,
which he sampled, I fear,
or he wouldn’t have called for “a chaser.”