His Eyes Keep Following
From The Blue Boy, (1770) by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) oil on canvas
Even from the distance, first
noticing the lapis colors, draped
across capturing this eternal figure,
still young, as you see the dirty whites
of his knee cap britches and slashed
doublet slightly opening at the bottom
with his lace collar covering his neck
and looking past his blushing cheeks
and then you are caught hypnotized by
those eyes keep tracing you, while moving
around the creaking wood flooring you
while staying in his Blue Boy pose, his
focus trails your vision, while hanging still,
even as the bow ties on his shoes have him
frozen inside this painting—you swear sneaking
away his eyes shadow, transcending charcoal
brushstrokes, you swear beyond his silence
now immortalized, with every blink you are
hooked—mystified by this boy’s haunted look
will stay with you, as your retention exposes,
his pupils reveal—his piercing blue disguise.
2015
link: http://bit.ly/1PIYMDA
Love this poema....'his piercing blue disguise.'
ReplyDeleteI really like how this poem speaks to the experience of experiencing a famous painting. You approach, and recognize "even from the distance", then move closer. You're both inside the work, hypnotized by the details, and at the same time a viewer outside, whose movements make the flooring creak. Finally, you have to just "sneak away" with the image stolen in your mind. Awesome poem.
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