muck and mire.

In the foreground you see a checkered shirt.
In it is the torso of a middle-aged man.
He is alive and appears distracted.
Slightly to his left are two breasts behind a wire mesh grille.
Most likely female, and made of fine linen.
Stuffed with pillow stuffing.
——
In the middle ground are two humans with their mouths open and hands gesticulating.
Probably having a heated debate.
Over a dead pet, perhaps.
Or about metamorphosis.
Or suchlike.
——
In the background you can see ghosts.
Figures distorted and blurred.
Maybe they’re people deprived of character.
It might have been their own choice to be depicted as smudges.
——
The picture, overall, radiates immense contentment, an undisputed belief in betterment—along with an equal amount of intolerable doubt and deep, deep grief.