Ancient Afternoon

40”x 30”
oil on canvas

Spears of sunlight
angling through
a bridal veil
of vine and bloom
a ballet of shadows
a song for June
serenading there
time’s lair
a secret room
a second moon.

I am my sister
telling secrets on her bed
I am my grandmother
kneading dough for bread
I am my mother
sorting silver spoons
I am Nefertiti
exchanging suns for moons.

Suspended like
a spider’s web
a pendulum
of silken thread
a crystalline
of in between
a sigh, a stare, I want
to stay here forever
even if for just one day,
I have two moons to ponder
I have so much to say.
All I can do
is breathe and sing and swoon,
that’s all I can do
in this ancient afternoon.