Gallery Life

White walls and
veneered floors
the squeak of sneakers
and the hissed voices
of mothers
calming children
refusing to appreciate
great art or sculpture
even at the sponge-like
age of four.
Sunday supplement educated parents
egged on by peer review
and colour wall charts
set their children on orbits
that will far surpass their own
but like all orbits
will decay
and burn up in the sun.