Salad Days for the Dead, 1516 Anno Domini

Hieronymus Bosch had overslept.
   Proud as a goat on a badminton court,
                        scratching and stretching,
straining for equanimity
                        between sleep and waking delight,
he knew he was late for his appointment
                        but did not care.
Finding his tin can with string - a gift
                        from da Vinci - he spoke:
"Baltraffio, I'm on my way; I'm coming with!"
     (His dog quizzically sniffed at the other
can on the floor.)  He kicked over
 a candlestick in his first stumble
     from bed, stepped outside,
nude as a witch, and mounted
     the pope's dead elephant, Hanno

        the all-knowing and diligent,

          and rode off into the flaming house.