mona lisa

once upon a time
in the 1990s
i went to the Louvre in Paris, France
i hadn't known this world-famous museum
was once a castle
the ancient building
as beautiful as the most precious art within

a crowd was gathered round
the 'Mona Lisa'
some consider 'Mona Lisa'
the most recognized man-made art of all
and here it was
the showpiece

the crowd was big
and Mona was in an acrylic cube
to keep her safe
she was much smaller than I expected
and i never was able to get up close
to see the brush work
to see the dance of Leonardo's living hand