Camille Claudel ( 1864 - 1943 )

she was quite alone
fortitude was all she had
her dreams in her work



Camille Claudel Sculpteur Extraordinaire






A Persona Poem for Dverse

all of my fire and imagination
"the paganini of marble"they called me
got me locked away in the lunatic asylum
for thirty years alone grace a  mon frere
Paul Claudel le poete, et ma mere

oh the weight of that strand of Catholicism
and none heavier than that of the french middle class
the  french ferocious embrace of faith and most importantly
Respectability

i destroyed almost all my work in a white hot rage against  injustice
rodin had used my body and soul as an elixir of perpetual youth
he presented me with a baguette in the oven
his  way of saying  " je t'aime " -  tainted goods now

je t'aime
j'adore ton talent
so much so
i am stealing your youth
and your work
i cannot marry you
i belong to another

so they locked me away for thirty years
the staff pleaded with them to take me back
"she's only committed the crime of imagination"
they chanted like a Greek chorus on deaf ears

"non non certainement non " dit maman
leaving her daughter clutching at a twig in a tornado
as she and her beloved son embraced Christ on their knees
at midnight mass praying

praying for the family embarrassment
thanking God in his mercy for providing
a lunatic asylum for the mad bad seed

after the service maman on the arm of her poet son
moved past the holy water font through the portals outside
into the cold night air
it began to rain softly in slow thick drops..plip plop
"C'est bizarre ca" she said rearranging the veil on her hat
" It tastes a little salty"