In charcoal I’m walking the tightrope.
In paint I dance with a man in a hat.
Here I braid my hair & there
I dance with a man in no hat.
My skin, I am told,
is a pear sliced open
or its blush rising up
through the green of its peel—
something you touch
with only your look yet I am inured
to gazes and gawks.
This time I am not in the frame
but arranging these lilies so that pink
kisses crimson which in turn
touches garnet which in turn brushes
the flower that is both orange & red.
I must paint their container,
a pitcher of glass. Regardez:
There is only the table
some fruit, a vase of flowers.
See how I depict their twisted stems?
Does this answer your question?
NB: Drawing and paintings are Tightrope Walker (1880) by Berthe Morisot; The Braid (1886-1887) and Dance at Bougival and Dance in the City (both 1883) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Still Life With Basket of Apples, Vase of Flowers (1928) is by Suzanne Valadon.
