Pierre Olivier Joseph Coomans, Belgian
“Okay, So We’re Probably Not Going To See Your Overalls Again Until Hector Poops. But in the Meantime, Now You Know: THIS Is the Sort of Thing You’re SUPPOSED To Feed a Pet Turtle,” 1865
Oil on canvas
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/// “We are Feeding the Turtle some lettuce,
‘cause your know-it-all grandfather bet us
we can’t keep it alive.
So I MUST make it thrive.
I won’t fail any task he might set us.”
/// Mom and daughter share this attitude:
They are both often partially nude.
Yet they both always wear
something tied in their hair
and their feet must at all times be shoed.
/// The young mother wears loose-fitting wraps,
and her child should have clothes on, perhaps.
Can the pet which they feed
cause exposed flesh to bleed?
Is this turtle a species that snaps?
/// The poor turtle is not feeling well.
There’s a growth that’s deforming its shell.
In that misshapen space
is what looks like a face
and it gives off an unpleasant smell.
/// The sick turtle will very soon die,
but a lack of good care isn’t why.
This takes place in Pompeii,
and tomorrow’s the day
that volcanic ash blots out the sky.
/// Excavations in Pompeii back then
gave the art-loving public a yen
to have scenes that evoke
that place (prior to smoke
from Vesuvius) hung in their den.