Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Seemingly





No twilit moon
or raw twinge
of air

only the light
snowfall dampening
scalp and coat
of a young man
walking home from work.

Like shredded remains
of a letter
evening's frost
clings to his person

and turns his thoughts
from chateau tourists
to the oval window
of an old building
sustained in stone
and black filigree.

A girl
playing piano
often illuminates
its antique glass

while tints
of her pale
coloring fall
on his shoulders

and pull him
intensely close
with or without a moon.

He perceives the snow
as Winter's love note -- torn
to breathless
confetti

and its subject --
a female playing
Für Elise

Each night
he has seen her alone
exorcising
Beethoven
from the keys

and hopes to draw
her attention
the same way
salvation summons
the gracious tilt
and gratified look

of women saints
gracing those rooms
he tours with guests
hungry for history
and its tragic splendor
told in paint or thread.

Tonight like other nights
his eyes balance
their version
of beautiful woman wronged
on dusk's window ledge

but that mirror
on the villa wall
reveals the same girl
arranging flowers
in a vase, her hand
lifts to lay aside
a long strand of hair

and he realizes
there are red roses
sent by someone.
The piano lid
is shut, a closed
casket of song.

Snow stops falling
and the air stiffens, starched
with ice and sheer glimmer
of a street lamp --

as he moves on.
_________________________________

Note -- Painting is called, "Man In A White Suit" by artist, Fabian Perez.

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