Sorry for the delay in thanking you, Alex and Glenn. And for writing "Miguel" instead of "Manuel"! Doh!
I'm still struggling with this one, although I'm not ready yet to post a revision. The bit about the setting sun is not just about the end of the Spanish monarchy's imperial glory in Europe (which continued longer in the New World, culminating with the losses of Spanish territories in the Caribbean and Philippines in 1898). The image of the last light of the setting sun is also more literally about the sparing use of pink/red on the cheeks and snood/hair bow of the painting. The "ash" might be a reference to the long ash of a cigar that hasn't yet fallen off, partially obscuring the burning part. I dunno. I think I need a break from this poem so I can come back to it with fresher eyes.
Alex, "chlorotic" — literally "greenish," from the Greek — was frequently used in the 19th century to describe pale-skinned girls and young women, particularly when their fainting is mentioned, so I think "sickly" is spot-on. It comes up repeatedly in Lefevre's descriptions of teenaged whores in Paris, for example. I'll carefully consider all your other generous suggestions as I revise.
Again, thank you both very much for your insights. I'm going to skip to another poem for a bit before coming back to this one.
|