she inclines to his touch…

in flagrante

So close, but they tremble alone,

shaken by knowledge,

they almost embrace their passion,

each moving to the boundary

without transgression,

but not without hurt.

The master, the worldly one,

the master in his house

filled with the baleful women

of his family,

tempted to the edge

of the precipice…

She, a maid with one name,

the child innocent,

heedless of her woman’s heat,

trespassing unaware

and ever nearer

to the mystery

that she barely understands.

She sits for him,

he moves his brush

but does not avert his gaze.

He beckons,

and she becomes

the girl with a pearl earring,

she feels the lush weight of it,

his fingertip sears her skin,

she inclines to his touch,

the gem at her ear,

and she trembles again

with a start of pain

that thrills but does not fulfill her.

He trembles in a long moment

with forgotten desire,

sees beyond his need

and steps back to his easel,

granting her more time

in the childhood she must learn to leave,

giving her a peace

that will be a bereavement,

a keening memory…

They look again at each other,

mute, apart, yet bound,

their bond unnamed,

without hope,

withering,

without joy…

January 2, 2021

Inspired by Girl with a Pearl Earring (1999) by Tracy Chevalier.

The movie is as good as the book.

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Book review: Six Plays by Henrik Ibsen

…his bleak insight into human nature

click here

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My first name was rain: A dreamery of poems with 53 free verse and haiku poems,

and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)

and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”

Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.

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“in flagrante,” master and maid (my poem)