As you freshen up,
I wait, gaze upon
two proper ladies;
ruffled white blossoms,
flushed with salty air,
stare, hungry robins.
Gull’s cry breaks the spell;
guilt flops and lodges.

“Where for tea?” you ask.
Startled, I turn to meet
your sparkling blue eyes.
“Snuggle first, perhaps?”
I wink, grasp your hand.
Love, afternoon’s task,
writhes us like otters;
honeymoon’s postures.

Octameter form

Reading a little about the painting, the artist married artist Manet’s brother and this painting was taken when she and her husband were on their honeymoon. I wrote this from Eugene’s perspective.