Your statue never stood on etiquette

[joel]

Your statue never stood on etiquette
and therefore was it marvelous, esteemed
beyond reproach and almost worshiped: yours
had been a tribute to reality
and yours had witnessed mercy for the eyes
of evenhanded judges who had loved
you not impartially— who favored you
precisely for your faults of beauty true
and truthful. You were not ashamed, but moved
with confidence like art that recognized
itself within its audience. To be
so beautiful, reflected on the floors
of palace galleries— you never seemed
to tarnish for the grounds where you were set.