The girl with a guitar is looking
Into a reality we cannot see.
She is smiling with child like grace
As if sharing a dare devil secret
With a friend and confidant,
Someone of her inner circle
Who is awkwardly in the know.
Or perhaps He has quietly entered,
His hat dropped down on the table;
Her letters tucked into His glove. -
Side lined from the picture, yet attentive to her music,
He awaits that deliberate silence
Designed to be broken by complements.
Or maybe he`s an image in her mind,
A dream mate far away
In a distant part of the country.
She imagines him planning a piratical deed.
He will come a tip toeing late at night
Along the hallway that leads to her chamber,
The door key deep in his pocket.
These are the thoughts that spark through my brain
As I study this painting in Kenwood House
Of a girl alone in a curtained room
Wistfully strumming as shadows deepen.
But Vermeer transcends our conventional seeing
With ethereal brushstrokes and a clear wise eye.
If I could ask him why he painted this picture
He would probably just smile, then turn away.
Trevor John Karsavin Potter,
June 2nd.- September 21st. 2023.
