Read the lines from Robert Hayden’s poem "Monet’s ‘Waterlilies,’” then look at the detail from Claude Monet’s painting Water Lilies. Today as the news from Selma and Saigon
poisons the air like fallout,
I come again to see
the serene, great picture that I love.

A detail from Water Lilies by Claude Monet. It shows blue-green lily pads and yellow-orange flowers on dark green water.

Why does the speaker like to view Monet’s Water Lilies?

to view art purely for art’s sake
to escape unpleasant news
to be exposed to stark reality
to escape poisonous air