Joshua St. Claire
Permanent Collection
I saw some of them in real life last year at the Imperial Zoo. They only have three hundred or so left. Twenty died that year, but only two were born. The zoologists took the young and tried to hand rear them, but they weren’t successful. They couldn’t get the food right. They vomited up everything they were given and only lasted a few days. They hope the population stabilizes eventually. They say they don’t breed well in captivity. They are almost certain that they are extinct in the wild. They only keep a few on display at a time. The zoologists say it is too stressful for them. They kept banging against the polycarbonate the whole time I was there. The zoologists say that is normal. It’s so hard to believe those are the same species in this painting. Their faces were twisted, wet, and writhing, with strange sounds coming from their mouths. Were they singing? Were they screaming? I could not tell. This one was different. The docent said this was one of their greatest treasures. How rare this one must have been! So strange to see one so calm. To see one silent. What is the meaning of its expression? What is it thinking of? Is it—perhaps—could it be—
a crack in timespace
Mona Lisa smile
About the Author
Joshua St. Claire is an accountant who works as a finance executive in rural Pennsylvania. His work has been published in several journals, including contemporary haibun online, Mayfly, The Heron’s Nest, and hedgerow.
Thanks Joshua, love it. Difficult to get the tone right with this subject but you have done it wonderfully. Everything expands at the end and into the haiku – excellent.
But please excuse me now, I must go and muffle my screams.
Thanks, Pete. Glad this one landed with you! The speculative and ekphrastic elements were hard to capture and this one underwent a significant number of transformations and edits until it was just right.