Dedicated to all those in transit
from the cloisters to the frontiers.

I. The Model Resting
She turns her eyes from daylight.
The hours trickle down her brow
on to her torso
swathed in cashmere.
Evening traipses along the window pains
so not to upset her skin.
A black ribbon woven through her hair
and a fortress built from laurel trees.

II. Morning on the Seine
Reflections.
She should ponder the lilacs
gracing her sill.
She should ponder the pastel sky
that bathes her chambers.
She should wander why her setting
is enveloped by Monet’s brush.

But the window is wet
and all she does is study
the meticulous details of the mess
made by her tea set.

III. Starry Night
It’s just another nocturne
but the ribbon stays in her hair.

Her memory craves a love affair
of the Trojan sort.

A love affair that would illuminate the moon
and alter the rhythm of the tides.

But it is slumbertime. One last glimpse
into the impressionist dreamscape

before she slips under her canopy
and follows Somnus to asylum.

01/27/2003

Author's Note: The titles of each section are paintings that are in the Getty Museum in LA, at least as of January of 2003.

Posted on 07/04/2007
Copyright © 2025 Ashley Lane